The Second Act (brought to you by Grace)

Have you ever thought you were doing fine on your own only to realize one day that you weren’t doing fine at all and you needed community? I was there recently. The COVID pandemic had a lasting impact on my life. I settled into the idea of attending church online and found it difficult to get back into the rhythm of physically attending church when it was safe to do so. I had all the resources I needed to continue to grow. Or did I? I had the You Version bible app, daily devotions from Our Daily Bread, a bible reading roadmap. I thought I was set but I was missing some of the most important parts of church attendance- fellowship and guidance from a loving pastor to help me navigate questions as I continued with my formation.

When I discerned my call to attend seminary and pursue full-time ministry, I also knew that I needed to get back to church and community with fellow believers. God had already spoken to me about which church to attend and it was when I finally decided to obey that I realized how much as I missing. I had been hearing the Word, and the seeds were planted and even watered but there I feel like I get extra nourishment when I engage with my community before, during, and after the service. It was because of my decision to join a congregation that I can share this insight with you today.

I attended service yesterday and the message was entitled “Grace Happens”. I wrote recently about mercy and how mercy is defined as not receiving a punishment that you deserve. Grace is receiving something that you don’t deserve. Let’s revisit Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.”(NIV). The preacher used a modern story of a prodigal to demonstrate grace. In, Luke 15 11 – 24 Jesus tells the story of the lost son who returned to his father after he lost everything he had on wild living. I always found this such an amazing parable but there are elements of the story to which I can’t relate, especially the part about cashing in on an inheritance. Yesterday, the preacher told a similar story, but it was set in current times. Instead of ending up feeding pigs, this young runaway found herself homeless and trying to find rest on a grate in Detroit with only newspapers to protect her from the elements. This young woman had run away because she didn’t want to live under the rules her parents had put in place. She ran away seeking freedom but all she found was enslavement to the very things that she had turned to in her search for freedom. Like the young man in the parable Jesus taught, our young lady decided to call home. She told her parents that she would be arriving in their local bus station around midnight the following day. She arrived at the station not really knowing what to expect. What she found was her parents and a boat load of family and friends and they were all wearing party hats. Instead of questions and lectures, she received a welcome home party and grace.

Folks, that lifesaving, difference -making grace is what we all receive from Jesus daily. We’re never too far away or too far gone to be brought back by grace. He certainly welcomed me back into his fold in an amazing way. He didn’t turn me away or give me a list of tasks to complete so that I could receive forgiveness. He put his arm around my shoulder and invited me to partner with him in the mission he has for me. He told me to come to him and that he would give me rest. (Matthew 11:28).

Have you ever felt as if you were too far gone and that God could never use you? Have you considered that the fact that you wandered away from the fold only to return empowers you to tell your story to spread the good news of God’s grace to others? If he has forgiven you (and I promise you that he has forgiven you if you’ve asked him to) than he will, if you allow him, use your story to touch others’ lives and spread the hope of grace to those who need to know they are loved.