Have you ever noticed that many Christians, who say they are living under Grace, (a beautiful, free gift they could never possibly earn or deserve), waste so much time and energy trying to police who “deserves” nearly everything; from salvation to church inclusion to healthcare to citizenship?
I have.
Survey your News Feed, read the newspaper, or hang out in a church lobby, and you’re certain to run into a Christian’s diatribe about this group or that group; people whose work ethic or moral condition or internal motives, they claim, make them ineligible for some perk or admittance or acknowledgement.
It’s as-if they have suffered a profound amnesia; a forgetfulness of the soul, that makes them, in those moments, completely unaware of their own polluted past, current hidden mess, and their incalculable good fortune.
There’s a powerful story told in each of the Gospels, of Jesus feeding a multitude. The crowd has been in a remote place, listening to him preach, and apparently it’s been a pretty long affair, because his disciples notice that people are starving, and their ain’t a Cracker Barrel for miles. They ask Jesus to send them on their way so they can eat. As the story goes, after asking the disciples to feed them, themselves, (a suggestion they respond to with incredulity), Jesus ultimately and miraculously feeds them all, by blessing the small bit of food they can scrounge together.
The story is not just an illustration of Jesus’ power, but of his heart. It’s illuminating, not just because of what Jesus does, but what he does not do on that hillside…
He does NOT have the disciples interview each person, to determine how much they deserve a free meal.
He does NOT survey their hearts to reveal any disqualifying moral deficiencies.
He does NOT ask them to confess any sins or pray some prayer in order to be blessed.
He does NOT make dinner conditional, upon current or future conduct or condition.
Apparently, Jesus is not particularly discriminating in who he cares for. The bar is set pretty low for determining who has earned this generosity.
Jesus, you see, is motivated and moved by compassion, and compassion for people trumps condition, every time.
The heart of the Christian faith, is the knowledge that I receive Grace; something that my life does not merit and could never merit. It’s an embarrassingly lavish, joy-inducing gift that I receive, despite myself.
If we as Christians really understand this, maybe we might be more grateful concerning our own lives, and in the process, be less concerned with the perceived undeservedness of others. Maybe the knowledge of what God gives us, could drive us then, not to contempt for others, but true compassion for them.
The next time you are tempted to try to be gatekeeper to the Kingdom, or a hoarder of His blessings, remember that you deserve far less than you have been given… and live like you know.
