“The private and personal blessings we enjoy – the blessings of immunity, safeguard, liberty and integrity – deserve the thanksgiving of a whole life.”
–Jeremy Taylor
“Thanksgiving comes after Christmas.”
–unknown
“If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek His grace.”
–Max Lucado
“It must be an odd feeling to be thankful to nobody in particular. Christians in public institutions often see this odd thing happening on Thanksgiving Day. Everyone in the institution seems to be thankful “in general.” It’s very strange. It’s a little like being married in general.”
“There are some fires you can’t get out of–you’ve got to go through the fire–you’ve got to go through the flood–you’ve got to go through the test–you’ve got to go through the struggle that you might decrease and he might increase.”
–T.D. Jakes
“God never promises to remove us from our struggles. He does promise, however, to change the way we look at them.”
–Max Lucado
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
“And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command.”
Hebrews 1:2-3, NLT
There is an idea of an existance of a ‘common grace’ that touches every person on this rock called Earth. What is suggested with this, is that every person has access to grace; at least on a basic level, such as nature, government, medical, education and judicial. We all are sharing in common grace whether we are saved or not.
Common grace explains a great deal,“He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”(Matt. 5:45) They both benefit from His care, whether they believe or disbelieve.
On the other pole, lies ‘special grace.’ It is different. It is grace that is given to those who put their trust in the promises for salvation, deliverance and healing. These promises can only be enjoyed by a Christian believer. Special grace is grace that God gives to each one who is in a covenant relationship with Himself.
I got up early the other morning, with a cup of coffee in hand and went to sit out on my steps. I have to tell you that mornings are truly delightful here in Alaska. As I sat looking at the trees and watching the clouds, the sun was caught by the trees and they began to glow. (I always think of the burning bush of Moses and secretly wonder if trees don’t remember and try to emulate their ancestor so long ago.) I hear the cranes from the lake. And all of this touches me.
Just as I physically awoke 20 minutes ago, I now awaken spiritually. Common grace makes this all possible. When I first became a believing Christian, I was quite amazed at how blue the sky was. The grass seemed greener. I remember feeling amazed that I hadn’t noticed these things before. I guess I was full of joy over the special grace that I had just been given.
“Common grace curbs the destructive power of sin, maintains in a measure the moral order of the universe, thus making an orderly life possible, distributes in varying degrees gifts and talents among men, promotes the development of science and art, and showers untold blessings upon the children of men.”
–Louis Berkof, Christian theologian
I love common grace. It makes it possible to enjoy my coffee in the sunshine on the deck. Common grace allows me to hear the crane’s special song. People everywhere are drawing from the common well of common grace. “The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.” (John 1:4)
“Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!” (Luke 15:1)
“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? ” (v. 4)
“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one.” (v. 8)
“For this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.” (v. 24)
The lost sheep, the lost coin, and the ‘lost son’ tell us that this is a time for recovery. This is a unique period for the Church. It is a season of special grace that allows us to seek and find things that are valuable to us. It is a time of finding out things about ourselves as well.
What is precious to you? With the woman, it was a lost coin (probably a part of her dowry) and she made a substantial effort to get it back. With the shepherd, what was valuable was a lost sheep, and he would take a calculated risk to find it, and rejoin the flock. And the father lost his son, and he had to wait for him to return to his senses.
These three parables were directed to the different issues that effected the “notorious sinners.” But they also spoke to the pharisees who were present. Both groups understood and there were plenty of implications for everyone.
It’s a funny thing, Jesus never minced words. No one could be neutral around him. That is still the case today. I think God is seeking His lost children. This is what He is up to, this is His passion. Understanding this salient fact should enlighten us,
to His will,
to know His passion and love, (His pleasure in finding what was lost)
and the true purpose of His Church.
As the Parable of the Prodigal Son develops, we see the pharisees equated to the ‘grouchy’ older brother. He begrudges his newly returned brother, and he really can’t see what is happening all around him. The idea of grace eludes him. Perhaps that is far more common than we think. Whenever ‘religion’ exerts control over a person or group, duty is almost always elevated over joy.
The Church is only as relevant as when it’s seeking out the lost.
The Church is meant to extend to the lost ‘sons’ of Adam, and the ‘daughters’ of Eve. This is God’s passion, and we must find out what He wants us to do to share His heart. It’s almost as if He wants to give us a chance to taste His joy.
“The private and personal blessings we enjoy – the blessings of immunity, safeguard, liberty and integrity – deserve the thanksgiving of a whole life.”
“There are some fires you can’t get out of–you’ve got to go through the fire–you’ve got to go through the flood–you’ve got to go through the test–you’ve got to go through the struggle that you might decrease and he might increase.”
Broken Believers 