You then be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 2:1
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. Titus 2:11
Just a few minutes ago I read a line from a book by Brennan Manning. It said, “He [God] loves me whether in a state of grace or disgrace.” Wow! I’ve never thought of it that way. Being in a state of grace, to me, suggests a closeness with God. It refers to a gift that God gives me, grace. I’ve seen many times the acronym God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense, GRACE. On some level I’ve understood that it is a state of being as well. Even as a child, growing up in a Roman Catholic Church I would hear the expression, state of grace. In all of my years of living with Jesus it has never occurred to me that if I’m not in a state of grace, then I am in a state of disgrace.
Now I know there could be arguments on this point, disgrace seems kind of harsh as we know it. I don’t mean, and I don’t believe Brennan means, disgrace as the world sees it, as in hang your head in disgrace. It seems to be more of a not quite right place, a something is amiss place, if you will.
Think of it this way, newly married people have to adjust to living 24/7 with another person. It’s new and it takes some getting used to, of course. Once they get used to it and one partner leaves for business or whatever reason, there is a new adjustment, now they have to learn to take single steps again, if only temporarily.
That is what I feel in the statement by Brennan Manning but much deeper. I can choose to acknowledge my Abba in all I do and walk in His grace, with His grace or I can be in disgrace, which just means, without grace. It doesn’t mean I’m a horrible person. It just means I’ve left something truly important at home. Think of it as the business person who can’t take a step without his day planner. He can, but it’s mighty uncomfortable.
The steps we take with grace are more surefooted and more purposeful. We can wander through aimlessly or we can yield to the One who showers us with grace.
I begin my days with God. All mornings include prayer but there are devotional reading days, flip the pages of the Bible days, Proverb days, Psalm days etc. On the mornings that, for whatever reason, I cannot start out with that special time, I am not quite right. It isn’t that disaster strikes. It’s just that prayer on the run does not have the same centering quality as focused prayer or actual conversation. I’m not miserable all day I just feel the same way the business person without the day planner feels, something is missing. That is what I think Brennan Manning is talking about when he says “disgrace” as in a lack of grace. It doesn’t always have to be a big dramatic thing. It doesn’t have to mean that we are carrying around unconfessed sin. It can simply mean that we have put our relationship with God on a back burner. God needs to be first and foremost in our lives and when He is, we are in a state of grace.
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. Titus 2:11
Just a few minutes ago I read a line from a book by Brennan Manning. It said, “He [God] loves me whether in a state of grace or disgrace.” Wow! I’ve never thought of it that way. Being in a state of grace, to me, suggests a closeness with God. It refers to a gift that God gives me, grace. I’ve seen many times the acronym God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense, GRACE. On some level I’ve understood that it is a state of being as well. Even as a child, growing up in a Roman Catholic Church I would hear the expression, state of grace. In all of my years of living with Jesus it has never occurred to me that if I’m not in a state of grace, then I am in a state of disgrace.
Now I know there could be arguments on this point, disgrace seems kind of harsh as we know it. I don’t mean, and I don’t believe Brennan means, disgrace as the world sees it, as in hang your head in disgrace. It seems to be more of a not quite right place, a something is amiss place, if you will.
Think of it this way, newly married people have to adjust to living 24/7 with another person. It’s new and it takes some getting used to, of course. Once they get used to it and one partner leaves for business or whatever reason, there is a new adjustment, now they have to learn to take single steps again, if only temporarily.
That is what I feel in the statement by Brennan Manning but much deeper. I can choose to acknowledge my Abba in all I do and walk in His grace, with His grace or I can be in disgrace, which just means, without grace. It doesn’t mean I’m a horrible person. It just means I’ve left something truly important at home. Think of it as the business person who can’t take a step without his day planner. He can, but it’s mighty uncomfortable.
The steps we take with grace are more surefooted and more purposeful. We can wander through aimlessly or we can yield to the One who showers us with grace.
I begin my days with God. All mornings include prayer but there are devotional reading days, flip the pages of the Bible days, Proverb days, Psalm days etc. On the mornings that, for whatever reason, I cannot start out with that special time, I am not quite right. It isn’t that disaster strikes. It’s just that prayer on the run does not have the same centering quality as focused prayer or actual conversation. I’m not miserable all day I just feel the same way the business person without the day planner feels, something is missing. That is what I think Brennan Manning is talking about when he says “disgrace” as in a lack of grace. It doesn’t always have to be a big dramatic thing. It doesn’t have to mean that we are carrying around unconfessed sin. It can simply mean that we have put our relationship with God on a back burner. God needs to be first and foremost in our lives and when He is, we are in a state of grace.
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