Are You Missing Out...?

A roommate of mine from project this summer recently emailed me and at the end of his email he signed out with this statement..."Judge not...lest you don't experience God's grace towards you." And so this got me thinking...how does judging myself keep me from experiencing God's grace? I don't think I've got it figured out but this is where I'm at so far....

God's grace, among other things, enables me to accept my "bad". In all of us there is good and bad....good and bad characteristics....good and bad habits....good and bad responses to situations...good and bad. And when I judge myself I'm inevitably judging my bad because I have an "ideal" me that I think I "should" be. These standards or "shoulds" come in many shapes and sizes. For example, "I shouldn't get angry when someone cuts me off", "I should read more books","I should take more faith steps", "I should read my Bible and pray more."...You get the picture (and it's not that we don't want to do those things...the problem comes when we feel like we "should" do them...more on that later maybe). So what happens when we fail in these areas that we think we should do better in? If you are like me you judge yourself..."next time I'm going to do better...I can do this." When in reality "I" probably can't do better next time....and when I realize and accept that reality two things happen.

One, I realize "I" can't do better and so because I do really want to be more Christ-like I admit that I desperately need the power of the Holy Spirit in my life...I need Him to empower me.

The second thing that happens is an acceptance of God's grace in that area of my life. This also frees me up to hear truth in that area of my life because if I'm judging a certain area of my life, when someone speaks truth into that area, even if they are speaking it in love, I will not hear the love and instead I will just experience judgment...which leads to separation. BUT, if I'm accepting God's grace towards me in that bad/real area I can accept truth and grow because I know that I'm already accepted by God.

Any Thoughts?

Friday night I was fortunate enough to score a ticket to hear Chuck Colson speak at a local church here in Kansas City. In his talk, which you can listen to here, Colson included this quote which has had me thinking this entire weekend....

“There is not one square inch in the whole domain of human existence as to which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry out MINE!”
-Abraham Kuyper-

Questions I've been asking myself as it relates to this quote...
1. What parts of my life do I typically cry out mine?
2. What is the cost, in my relationships with God and others, when I take back "control" of those areas?
3. How can I, in very practical...everyday ways, cry out "His" in those areas?

Currently Reading:

Making Small Groups Work
by Cloud and Townsend

There were many helpful things I learned this summer during our staff training and development times...but "The Grid" was maybe one of the most helpful. As I continue to understand and learn what it means to live in grace and truth with others and with God this grid has been a great tool for understanding where I tend to operate in life and how to move closer to grace and truth. Let me explain it a little.

On the "x" axis you have Grace and on the "y" axis you have Truth. As they both increase you have Grace and Truth.

Performance
As Truth increase and Grace decreases you have performance and legalism. Most performers still think there is a law or some standard that God wants them to live up to in order to earn His favor. Lots of judgment in the life of a performer because they are trying to live "perfect" lives for everyone but inevitably they fail, judge themselves, and gear themselves up to do a better job next time. Performers are never really known because what is shown is only the good...that leaves half of them not known or accepted.

Total Excess
As Truth decreases and Grace increases you have an environment of Total Excess and license. It is an attitude of complete rebellion and excess. This attitude is very self-destructive at seems fun at first until the consequences catch up with them. A lot of times Performers will slide into Total Excess after they realize that despite their best efforts they aren't able to live up to all the standards they believe are there for them.

Isolation
As Grace and Truth both decrease you have Isolation. Isolation is different than solitude. In isolation the person wants to hide and keep things in the dark. It is very easy to be depressed in isolation. People feel lonely, left out, secluded, and un-known.

Grace and Truth
The final quadrant is Grace and Truth. In grace and truth the person is free from "should" and lives life out of a desire to serve and be obedient and love. The person may not seem to be "a good Christian" because they accept the good and the bad and aren't so concerned with hiding the bad. They are dependent on others and God and realize that they need both grace and truth from others and God to grow.

So there is a brief explanation of The Grid. Here are some questions to ask yourself that I've asked myself.

-What quadrant do I normally operate in?
-What quadrant do I operate in with different relationships in my life (family, friends, co-workers, God...etc)?
-What is the cost of where I tend to operate?
-What do I need to do to move toward Grace and Truth?