When you read the Gospels; I mean, really dig deeply into Jesus’ ministry and see his patterns and methods, something quite unsettling becomes incredibly clear: He had very, very low standards.
Jesus called extremely unspectacular under-achievers to be his Dream Team, inner circle.
He ran a street-level, grassroots ministry movement of prostitutes, tax collectors, and the ugly, maligned, messy riff-raff of society.
He gave free meals to multitudes sitting hillsides, with no prerequisites, other than the fact that they were tired and hungry.
He laid his hands upon the untouchables, let the guilty walk way from rightful punishment, and he opened wide the doors to a Kingdom, previously reserved only for the elite, the perfect, and the pedigreed.
In fact, if we’re honest with ourselves, Jesus seemed a lot less concerned about correct presentation, moral fitness, and appropriate lifestyle than we would like him to be, and a lot less so than we are.
It’s as if he would take practically anyone who would come; that the bar was so lowered on who he was willing to let into close proximity with himself, that the welcome mat was out for absolutely everybody.
Bingo.
Most Christians totally get the concept of Grace, (as a priceless, free gift that could never be earned or deserved by the recipient), when it comes to what we want, and have personally received from God.
We look in the mirror and we know that we’re failures, frauds, screw-ups, and bad apples, and that we’ve received far, far better than we deserve… and we’re cool with that.
It’s when we are called to reflect this same openheartedness, this lavish generosity, this rather indiscriminate Grace to the unpleasant, annoying, and confrontational people around us, that we play dumb or we simply resist.
When faced with a world of similarly flawed lowlifes, we choose, rather than simply imitating Jesus, to act as if we’re somehow protecting him, by barricading his Church with piles of rules, pages of preconditions, and miles of moral hoops.
The longer we feel like we’re part of “the club”, the more and more tight-fisted we become with blessings, and we grow so willfully stingy with the love of God.
In the process, we actually betray a really nasty truth about ourselves: We’re uncomfortable, and almost unwilling to share all that we’ve been given in Jesus, with those who we determine are undeserving; (and that list gets longer and longer every day).
I don’t who makes your list; who you find difficulty extending Grace to; that person, people, or group of people who you see as too offensive or completely unworthy of loving.
We all have them, and I guess I just wanted to remind you, (and myself), that having such a list is really not an option, if we are to emulate Christ in any meaningful way.
Yes, Jesus’ bar is low. (It needed to be to have included you and me).
No, it’s not fair. (If we got what was fair, neither of us would be in great shape right about now).
And yes, it makes no sense. (But a suffering, servant King, willfully being killed for his subjects, defies logic anyway).
It’s all this nonsensical stuff, that makes God’s Grace so unsettling, so irrational, and so freakin’ beautiful when we receive it.
You’ve seen firsthand what it looks like to give Indiscriminate Grace.
Now, go and do likewise.
