Radical Grace

Today my husband preached a great sermon on James 2:1-13, which I'll call the "Partiality Passage". He and I recently finished studying James and he's been preaching on it for several weeks. I've enjoyed the repetition and the insight that he's brought, which has really deepened my understanding and allowed the Spirit to work on my heart and life in new ways.
Today's message really challenged me and I wanted to share it. A word of warning that this is my own paraphrasing and "working out" of this morning's message...I hope I don't butcher it! (Sorry babe, if I do...)

Rusty used James 2:8-12 to talk about sin as a "great equalizer". In this passage, the author reminds us that we have ALL sinned...even if our transgressions don't make the "Top 10", we have all fallen short of the goodness that God created us for, whether it's adultery, murder, partiality, etc. To those of us who are really good at "classifying" sins and breathing sighs of relief that we aren't like those people, James writes, "So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty" (James 2:12). Rather than dwell on or even glory in the sin and failings of others, we are to remember that it is by the grace of God and the faithfulness of Jesus Christ that we are forgiven, transformed and restored. We cannot forget where we have come from and what God has done in our lives. It is not by our own power or goodness that we are set free from sin...it's nothing to do with us at all!

Because of this amazing grace, mercy ought to be one of the foremost character traits of the Christian community. However, I must observe that many of us, myself included, are sadly lacking in this area. Somewhere along the way, we've developed a low tolerance for others, being very quick to find fault and sit in condemnation. We've become stingy with "the benefit of the doubt", instead taking great measures to prevent being taken advantage of. We are critical. We nurse anger and grudge and paranoia. We look at others through the eyes of judgement, rather than the perfect law of liberty which reminds us from whence we have come and by whom we have been redeemed.

As if our own experience with God's radical grace and forgiveness shouldn't be enough to cause such grace and mercy to overflow from our lives, James writes a warning in chapter 2, verse 13, "For judgement will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgement". Judgement without mercy...this is no small warning.

Friends, I confess that radical grace is often missing from my own life. I confess that I let the first impressions or known failures of others taint my view of them. I confess that I show favoritism. I confess that many times I do not forgive easily or radically. I confess that I get my feelings hurt quickly and I stay hurt. I confess that I gossip and delight in others' drama.

God forgive me for cheapening your grace by refusing to let it overflow from my life into others'. I have not forgotten what I would be without your free, amazing, endless, boundless, radical grace which I have done nothing to deserve. Teach me your grace. Use me as a vessel of your amazing love.