Black Velvet

I recall (many years ago) going into the jeweler and looking at diamonds for my wifes engagement ring. I've since seen this same scene played out many times as I walk past jewelers in the mall. Before the jeweler gets out the precious stones, they all do the same thing. They lay down a piece of simple black velvet. The velvet is soft, without form or anything to draw your eye to. Why do they do this? So the glimmering diamond will have your complete attention. If the precious stone were to be laid down on the glass display case, you would not notice the way it catches the light, or the intricacy of the cut. You may even be tempted to look through the glass at something else that catches your eye.

In thinking of God's grace, there is a black velvet. We don't see it, but God does. Once we have accepted the gift of his son, we are washed and cleaned to sparkle like the diamond on the jewelers counter. He sees us with the full righteousness of Jesus. But even more interesting is what he doesn't see. He doesn't see our sorted past, or get distracted by things that his eyes are drawn to. He looks at us on a clean black velvet. Admiring how we shine and the intricacy of what he has created.

Through his grace all of the sins of the past are washed away, and we are graced with the power to live that way. Why then do we constantly peek under the velvet? Sometimes being obsessed with what things are laying under there. I often consider my past when I should be focusing on the things right in front of me. It's like a groom standing at the counter thinking that there may be a nice watch, or a bracelet to look at.

I didn't become distracted when I picked out an engagement ring for my wife. I was focused on one thing. My new bride. I was focused on my love for her and wanting to give her something to show her my love would last forever. So it is also with Jesus. We are his bride and he wants to focus on us.

Father, help me to live freely today as one walking on black velvet. Help me to resist those things of the past as Satan points them out to me, knowing that they are all under the veil that you have placed there so that I can catch the light of the Son and shine it out to the world.

The Grand Canyon

I've never been to the Grand Canyon. I've seen it on many movies and read about many aspects of it. I even planned a trip that included a pack mule trip to the bottom of the canyon and a few days at a camp by the river. (Then life happened...so the trip didn't.) If you have never been to the Grand Canyon, it seems almost impossible to imagine it. The canyon is, on average, nine miles accros. I grew up in a small town in Michigan and the next towns to the East and West were both nine miles away. As Mid-Michigan is absolutely flat, I have a good reference point for nine miles by car. But it is hard to imagine seeing it all at the same time.

Jerry Bridges uses a powerful word picture for God's grace using the Grand Canyon in his illustration. A common perception of God's grace, (and one that I have considered from time to time) is what he adds to us to achieve his standard. We can go so far toward living sin free, and he makes up the difference. If we are trying to travel 100 miles and run out of gas at 90, he will give us ten miles worth of gas to travel the rest of the distance. If, however, we can only travel 60 miles on our tank he will provide the difference of 40 miles worth of gas.

But God's grace doesn't work this way. If we consider what Paul writes in the book of Romans:

As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous—
not even one.
11 No one is truly wise;
no one is seeking God.
12 All have turned away;
all have become useless.
No one does good,
not a single one.”
-Romans 3:10-12

No one is righteous. Not even one. Even if we think we are seeking God, we aren't doing it by his perfect standard. Even if we think we are looking him in his face, when compaired to Jesus we have turned away. No one does good.....not a single one.

This means we have sugar water in our gas tank. We are trying to pay with worthless currency. We think we can go a long way toward God, but really we are paralyzed and can't move.

Getting back to the Grand Canyon analagy, if I can jump six feet from where I am standing I would need God to build a bridge 47,514 feet for me to reach him on the other side. My six foot jump may be impressive in a track meet, but it is totally useless when leaping the Grand canyon. Even if I set a world record and jumped 29.36 feet (set by Mike Powell in 1991), it would be worthless to me if trying to span the nine miles needed to reach the other side.

This is what Paul was talking about in the verse above. God doesn't build us a bridge 47,514 miles. His bridge has nothing to do with how far I can jump. He builds it from one side of the canyon to the other. He built it out of two simple pieces of wood about 2,000 years ago upon his son's back. That bridge still stands today for each of us. But we can't jump across it. We can only be carried across by Jesus, which is the Grace of God.

Thank you Lord for knowing that I had fallen short in all that I had done to reach you, and loving me anyway. I came to you once broken, but now I come to you strong in your Son. As I survey the cavern that I have crossed, help me to know that it is indeed just that. Crossed. Finished. And now I rest in you.

Guilt free

Considering again the analogy of bankruptcy, there is still a problem even if I assume that I have filed chapter 7. In the business world, chapter 7 bankruptcy doesn't totally settle the score. It doesn't pay the price of your debt, instead it cancels it. It frees the debtor from his responsibilities, but it does not free him from the guilt of knowing the lenders only received a portion of what was due to them. It also leaves the business man at square one to start over. To try to perform better the next time, full of guilt and either a resolve to try harder next time or depression that they have failed.

In the Christian life however, our debt has been paid in full. God sees us in the full righteousness of Jesus Christ. And not only the debt of the past, but any debt that we may incur in the future. We can live a life of peace with God, free of guilt knowing that our score is settled.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. -Romans 5:1

I know I have a tendency to find some level of confidence in my Christian life based upon how I am "doing" in my spiritual life. I know when I don't spend time in the word, pray or go to church I get down on myself and assume that God is looking down at me too. While it is true that there are natural consequences for my actions, it is also true that he will lead me back to him. When I consider the times of my life when I have experienced the greatest growth, they are associated with these periods of my walk when God leads me home.

I have experienced his gentle nudge back in his direction many times. I have also experienced his forceful hand on my back. In either case, it was because of His grace that I came home. Not because of my spiritual discipline, lack of sin or good Christian habits.

The writer of Hebrews talks about this new life of guilt free living this way:

let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:22 (emphasis mine)

Jerry Bridges describes it this way, "We are brought into God's Kingdom by grace, we are sanctified by grace; we receive both temporal and spiritual blessings by grace; we are motivated to obedience by grace' we are called to serve and enabled to serve by grace; we receive strength to endure trials by grace; and finally, we are glorified by grace. The entire Christian life is lived under the reign of God's grace."

God, thank you for giving me grace for today. Not only your promise of an eternity spent with you, but a life lived with you. Thank you for pursuing me daily, changing me through both my good and bad decisions. Thank you for being the God of my circumstances, using them for the good of your kingdom and my sanctification. In short, thank you for your grace.