THE COST OF GRACE
Copyright Rosemary Bardsley 2022
This message outline could be developed as one message, or into three messages. It looks beyond the surface meaning of three parables of Jesus, to the cost of God's amazing grace to God himself, in doing things his way, the way of grace, rather than acting in a way that satisfies our human common sense or our human sense of justice.
1. THE PARABLE OF THE WEEDS - Matthew 13:24 - 30; 36 - 43.
[In which the farmer's field, riddled with weeds, made it look like the farmer was quite slack and careless.]
God, in his choice to be gracious to his imperfect church and those in the church who are not really his church, exposes himself to misunderstanding and misrepresentation. Anyone outside the church, looking on, could readily question:
The integrity of God's message.
The integrity of God's reputation.
The integrity of God's church.
Grace leaves God wide open to such questions and their associated accusations. But this cost is irrelevant to God. Grace is the way he has chosen to act, and because of this, he bears with the imperfections and the questions and the accusations.
2. THE PARABLE OF THE SHEPHERD - Luke 15:3 - 7
[In which the shepherd leaves ninety-nine of his sheep in order to save one that is lost. Again, looking on from the outside, one would wonder: Who would do that? What is the fate of one, compared to the fate of ninety-nine?]
God, in his choice to be gracious, leaves himself open to misunderstanding, misrepresentation and criticism.
He puts his own reputation on the line.
He puts his own 'comfort' aside.
The observable 'safety' and the reputation of his church is, from a human perspective,exposed to question and criticism because he is seeking the lost.
God did this in his choice to be gracious to us - once each one of us was that lost sheep.
3. THE PARABLE OF THE WAITING FATHER - Luke 15:11 - 32
[In which a father gives his younger son his inheritance, then waits for this wayward son's return.]
God, in his choice to act with grace, created us, knowing what we would do with his gift of life, knowing how far short we would fall from the glory for which he created us. In this grace, this act of creating, God knowingly set himself up for:
The pain of loving.
The certain 'risk' involved in creating us with the power to choose.
The agony of knowing that we are destroying ourselves.
The pain of waiting.
God, out of his deep, deep grace, created us, knowing full well what it would cost him, and even then knowing full well the reality of Christ and his cross.
CONCLUSION: Do we really understand and appreciate God's grace?
Failure to appreciate God's grace is expressed in:
Self-centredness
Anger towards God and others
Self-righteousness
Grumbling and complaining
Blaming God and others
Legalism
No real joy.
Conversely, if we have begun to understand and appreciate God's grace we will be increasingly overwhelmed and amazed by this grace, and overflow with peace, with joy, with love, with contentment and with thankfulness.