In the Grip of Grace
This week I started reading a book that has been on my shelf for quite sometime, but I have never picked up. It’s by Max Lucado and it’s called In the Grip of Grace. I haven’t gotten very far into the book yet but the opening chapter shares a very cool story that depicts the common reaction people have to grace. It’s about a king who has four sons and through a series on events in which they disobeyed their father’s instruction 3 of the sons are swept down a river in to a distant and horrible land. At first they all have hope of being rescued by their father, but one by one they all forget these notions and accept their fate as punishment for their wrongdoing. This effects them so much that when their father sends the one remaining brother to rescue them only one is able to accept it.
Believe me, the story is much better in the book, but the concept still seems strange to me. Why wouldn’t someone want to be rescued from a horrible situation, like the brothers? Well, if you look at in the context of grace there are a lot of people in this world that think like those three disobedient brothers. They never feel good enough for grace, or feel like they deserve it. I have met several people in my ministry that have held fast to this train of thought. But what they fail to grasp is how crazy grace is. It goes against the grain of common sense.
I’m not saying that I fully understand God’s grace, I think our human minds can only comprehend so much of it, but I have always felt like I understood it pretty well. Then, one day I see it in a new light and the concept will totally blow me away again. I think it’s good to be continually floored by the awesomeness of our faith, and I hope this book helps me to gain more insight on the complex subject of God’s grace.
