Predictably, some commenters on Monday’s post felt the need to specify that you know, grace isn’t cheap. We can’t get forgiven unless we really mean it, etc.
God, I’m so tired of that message.
Anytime someone tells you that you can only receive grace IF you do/feel/say xyz…they are feeding you bull excrement. (Sadly, well-intentioned bull excrement tastes the same as regular. Trust me, I’ve had both.)
All this trying to parse out who deserves forgiveness and grace. Does anyone else realize how idiotic that is??
Its a good thing that when the prodigal son came home, he didn’t run into the older brother first. Can you imagine the lecture he would have gotten?! (I’ll bet its along the lines of what Teen Mania teaches.)
Providentially, the Father saw him first. (That represents God, by the way.) So what did God do to the son who left him and partied and sinned and slept around and squandered everything and was a total loser with no discipline or good judgment whatsoever?
Did he put him on a “growth plan”?
Did he check to make sure the son was really serious about changing?
Did he express his disappointment in his son?
Nope.
Shockingly, he threw him a freaking party! Right then and there.
Sidebar – It was a party, people. Let that sink in. Can you imagine Ron Luce greeting an intern that way after they had sex in the back 40? Throwing a banquet in his/her honor, every bit as festive as every other banquet? Would you go to that banquet? Scandalous, isn’t it?
Ok, so back to the story…..Guess who wouldn’t come to the party?
Yep, the older brother. The (self) righteous one. The one who served his father in a seemingly whole-hearted way.
He pissed on the party. Or maybe he was pissed because of the party. Either way, he was pretty ticked. His little brother was getting off scot-free!!! It was cheap grace!
The father, with much more patience than I, pleaded with the older brother to join the celebration. To party and dance and rejoice. Maybe he even offered him a party hat.
Did the older brother drop his resentment at the grace afforded to the younger brother? Did he apologize and go party like it was 1999?
Or did he stay working in the fields, grumbling and resenting how easy his brother got it while he was working hard and living right?
Well, Jesus never told us the end of the story. I think that’s because we are the end of the story. We can all find ourselves in this story.
If you are an older brother, will you come join the party?
If you are a younger brother, drop your shame and condemnation, because this party is for YOU!
We’ve booked a great dj who is spinning dance tunes. I think I hear “Dynamite” playing right now. So get your body on the dance floor and be exhilarated by his grace.
(If this post infuriates you, it probably means you’re an older brother. Sorry.)
*In the spirit of this post, I will delete any/all comments that piss on the grace party!
28 comments:
heartsfiresays:January 5, 2011 7:19 AMReply
I <3 this post!
Renaesays:January 5, 2011 8:35 AMReply
I will point out, as littlegraygirl did on the last post, that the prodigal son didn’t even come home wholeheartedly seeking forgiveness. He was starving, and hoped his father would at least let him eat with the servants. He came up with some posturing words of humility to try and get his father to just let him have something to eat… not really looking to wholeheartedly follow, was he? That’s the point of grace đ
By the way, good to have you back, RA! I missed you over the holidays, but I’m glad you got some time to refresh and recharge!
Ericsays:January 5, 2011 9:49 AMReply
I can get you Milano for the second set!
“Lay down your swords and your guns, we’re going to the festival!”
littlegraygirlsays:January 5, 2011 10:44 AMReply
Oh, I LOVE this post!
Recovering Alumnisays:January 5, 2011 11:08 AMReply
Yes, little gray girl and Renae – excellent insight that I hadn’t thought of before. I meant to say that yesterday!
Anybody want to limbo??
laynesays:January 5, 2011 11:37 AMReply
Woot!
jeffsays:January 5, 2011 12:30 PMReply
I’m listening to the tune now RA, and let me say (kinda) HAAAAAAHAHAHAhhahahaha, what a hoot. đ
1 Timothy 1:7
Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
Geez, if it wasn’t for the heavy handed, damage causing, completely sickening indifference and anger that TM has shown as to the truth of all of your testimonies I’d still be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. [I’m still a newcomer here, ok. đ ]
But as it is IMO, you all dance if you want and they can shove it. đ
I HAD TO REDO THIS POST! please feel free to remove the previous post RA. I had to change “anger that RA has shown” to “anger that TM has shown”.
Anonymoussays:January 5, 2011 12:41 PMReply
Grace costs NOTHING to receive. (If you think it does, than there is something wrong with you and/or your concept of grace.)
Grace only costs the giver. Being that the giver is The Almighty; we have no comprehension of what it costs Him to choose to give it to us FREELY.
Why does He give us grace?! Because we are loved by God!
So… Who wants to Safety Dance with me?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5_d0gabeYA
~ Blue Lantern
Thinks A Lotsays:January 5, 2011 12:50 PMReply
I’m Dancin’!!!!
Thinks A Lotsays:January 5, 2011 12:58 PMReply
1999 was a good year for me. It was before I went to the HA!! Let’s Party!!
Recovering Alumnisays:January 5, 2011 1:49 PMReply
Oh, look! Jesus is pouring strawberry margaritas!! Yum!
Ericsays:January 5, 2011 1:59 PMReply
How’d He do that? I only brought one strawberry and a bottle of water!
christianagnosticsays:January 5, 2011 2:19 PMReply
Wait…doesn’t Jesus know what kind of woman he’s dancing with…she’s, she’s a….a blog moderator. If he knew he surely would’ve asked her to stop dancing, find the nearest computer and delete all her nasty blog postings about meaningless things like, abuse, lying, manipulation….gosh-maybe Peter needs to go rebuke Jesus for his lack of holy decorum.
Curious Georgesays:January 6, 2011 11:13 AMReply
I’m lovin it!
Anonymoussays:January 6, 2011 12:34 PMReply
Good post RA! The “not until you change your behavior, do ab and c” grace is worthless and IMO one of the most damaging teachings in modern Christianity, not just Teen Mania.
Demanding that a person with little autonomy, or low self esteem “change their behavior” before receiving grace is ultimately like standing in front of a flower and screaming at it to bloom. You can peel some of the petals off so that the flower LOOKS like it bloomed but in the end you have a flower that looks right, but has been fundamentally damaged.
We are all individuals, and when people presume to play God for others you get abuse cloaked in “righteousness”. So I propose a toast to all the flowers here that have been battered by the winds of spiritual abuse, but stubbornly refuse to stop blooming.
Cheers!
Anonymoussays:January 6, 2011 1:15 PMReply
I was actually just reading in some magazine about forgiveness and meaning your sorry and all that… (not christian, I think in newweek or something). the conclussin they came to was that forgiveness stands alone, without any condition. Otherwise it’s not real forgiveness. They came to this conclussion and they don’t even believe in god.
juliesays:January 6, 2011 2:10 PMReply
Dave posted a new blog on honoracademydirectors dot com about grace today. Don’t know if he was intentionally responding to RA or not…
Lisa98says:January 6, 2011 3:18 PMReply
Of course he was intentionally responding to this blog! Sickening.
Ericsays:January 6, 2011 3:30 PMReply
Wait, I thought reading this blog was a sin, Dave!
“This teaching was inspired by a teaching on grace by Mike Bickle that ministered powerfully to my heart.”– Dave’s post above.
I should have known. Interestingly, Mike Bickle’s teaching on “grace” just got debunked on Internet Monk earlier this week: Works Righteousness By Any Other Name Still Stinks. Very much worth reading.
There was a blog similar to RA’s about Bickle’s ministry “IHOP” here. It has as many cultlike tendencies as HA, if not more. Here’s one called Why I Believe IHOP is a Cult. You’ll know them by the company they keep!
Recovering Alumnisays:January 6, 2011 3:31 PMReply
Ok, ok…back to the party!!
Ericsays:January 6, 2011 3:41 PMReply
Party on!
Steve Lumbleysays:January 6, 2011 4:31 PMReply
I don’t usually find much worthwhile on the Christian Post but this article by Tullian Tchividjian is pretty good
“My observation of Christendom is that most of us tend to base our personal relationship with God on our performance instead of on His grace. If weâve performed well-whatever âwellâ is in our opinion-then we expect God to bless us. If we havenât done so well, our expectations are reduced accordingly. In this sense, we live by works rather than by grace. We are saved by grace, but we are living by the âsweatâ of our own performance.”
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20110105/performance-vs-grace/
Anonymoussays:January 6, 2011 11:10 PMReply
Renae: Have you ever *read* the story of the prodigal son?
17 âBut when he came to himself, he said, âHow many of my fatherâs hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, âFather, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.ââ
How can you read that yet say that the son wasn’t seeking forgiveness? To repent literally means to change direction. The son desperately wanted to go home, he REPENTED. He went home to ask his father to show him grace by allowing him to be like one of the servants, under the authority of the father but without the rights of a son. HOWEVER, his father, whose grace was so much greater than the prodigal could ever have imagined, welcomed him back and restored him as a son! Grace is amazing, but to suggest that the son did not truly seek forgiveness is ridiculous!
laynesays:January 7, 2011 10:03 AMReply
“Demanding that a person with little autonomy, or low self esteem “change their behavior” before receiving grace is ultimately like standing in front of a flower and screaming at it to bloom. You can peel some of the petals off so that the flower LOOKS like it bloomed but in the end you have a flower that looks right, but has been fundamentally damaged.
We are all individuals, and when people presume to play God for others you get abuse cloaked in “righteousness”. So I propose a toast to all the flowers here that have been battered by the winds of spiritual abuse, but stubbornly refuse to stop blooming.”
Yay! Well put! And cheers!
Recovering Alumnisays:January 7, 2011 8:17 PMReply
Anon at 11:10pm – I took her point to mean that the son wasn’t going back simply because he wanted to live right, but because he was hungry and destitute. He wanted to eat. Not what most would consider a very lofty reason or spiritual revelation.
Either way, grace is still awesome.
Renaesays:January 7, 2011 8:36 PMReply
Anon @ 11:10:
There was no need to be quite so condescending. According to what we understand of the customs of that time, plenty of scholars agree that if the prodigal son really had come to grips with what he did (basically telling his father “I wish you were dead” by asking for his inheritance early), his response would have been very different. His father could have publicly disowned him in the street, left him for dead, and no one in the whole town would have lifted a finger to help him. In that day, what the prodigal son did was a really terrible thing.
In addition to that, even in the scripture you quoted, his main concern was to have food in hand, not being sorry for what he did. First thing he said was about how the servants had more to eat than he did. Second thing he said was what he was going to say to his father–he doesn’t even mention personally feeling guilty for it. He specifically says, “I will arise and go to my father, and will SAY to him, âFather, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. (emphasis mine)” I’ve read plenty of Bible verses where someone realizes they have sinned greviously, and they are immediately remorseful. They rend their clothes, cry out to God, etc. Call me cynical, but this guy doesn’t really sound like his main concern was to receive forgiveness from his father for telling him to drop dead. So no, I don’t think he was wholeheartedly seeking forgiveness. My previous opinion still stands.
Next time you disagree with someone, please approach it in a gentler manner so a discussion can ensue. No need to act like a know-it-all.
Anonymoussays:January 12, 2011 6:08 PMReply
This is a beautiful post, such a beautiful post. Thanks Jesus for your love!
Thanks RA, this is such a “dangerous” post about a great basic truth.
agsinesays:January 24, 2011 8:31 AMReply
What a great post. It’s so important for us to remember that grace is freely given to all.
That said, I brought the Glee versions of several songs. Dancin’ time!