Do you have a collection? Growing up I collected baseball cards. I collected so many that my collection would have been worth a good amount of money. But I even collected things of no real value. Do you ever find yourself holding on to random things for long periods of time? I know that as I was growing up I had a problem holding on to graded papers that I had done well on and I wanted to save them because of the sticker or grade. I held on to ticket stubs, notes, brochures and all sorts of useless things. I held on to these things for so long that I would accumulate shoeboxes full of them.
A few months ago I found myself strangely addicted to the show "Horders" on TLC. This show highlights the stories of people who have been living in a dangerous hording lifestyle. These people have developed an unhealthy habit of not being able to throw anything away, to the point where their homes are filled to overflowing with all kinds of things. I've seen a lot of very useful items sit dormant in these homes that could go to great use for people in need.
It makes me call into question the way that we handle grace and the gospel of Christ. The Spirit has poured onto us an amazing amount of grace, and we, in our consumerist and hording nature begin to be a cistern or shoebox for God's grace.
In Acts chapter 11 we see some of the earliest signs of the movement of the Gospel to Gentiles. Through persecution in Jerusalem, the good news of Christ was spread into the surrounding areas. It was first shared with the Jews but soon some men began to share this message with the Greeks at Antioch and the Lord blessed them. Through this ministry many Greeks believed! When the leaders of the church in Jerusalem heard about this they sent Barnabas to check things out, much like they had done 3 chapters earlier when they sent Peter and John to Samaria. Once Barnabas had arrived he "saw the evidence of the grace of God" and "encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts."
I stumbled across this passage because of an old chapel sermon that I listened to. Dr. Bounds, a professor of Theology, shared about what grace is. "God's grace is the work of God for us, it is the work of God in us, and it is the work of God through us." We see in this passage that the movement of the Gospel through those scattered by persecution was evidence of God's grace.
The question was asked of the student body which inquired if they were placing themselves in the avenues through which God administers His grace. Avenues such as the local church, the mentoring of elders, the prayerful reading of Scripture, and holy sites where God has consistently administered his grace. I thought about Dr. Bounds' statement concerning the definition of grace and was convicted immediately. I fear that all to often I have had a hording and consumeristic view of grace, where I seek out and desire grace but hardly ever think of myself as a pipeline through which God can pour out His grace into others.
So just like Dr. Bounds asked if we as Christians were placing ourselves in avenues through which God administers his grace, I want to pose this question for you. Are you allowing yourself to be a avenue through which God channels grace to others? Are you seeking more and more grace for yourself with a total disregard for allowing God to pour out his grace through you? It's easy for us to get caught up a consumerist view of grace because of how blessed we are. There are so many different ministries we can attend through which God pours out his grace. We have thousands of sermons available to us at any moment online. We are blessed to have numerous copies of His Word in our homes. But what about those who don't?
Now don't get me wrong, we are nothing without the grace of God in our own lives. But I firmly believe that we as Christians, followers of Christ, should not only seek out grace for ourselves. Rather we should allow the Spirit to pour out His grace so that it can flow through us and into the lives of others. Grace is a gift we receive but it is also a blessing God has allowed us to share.
"We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith." Romans 12:6
As a result of the grace that has been given to us, we begin to realize that we have certain gifts that God has specified intentions for. As is described in Romans 12:6-8, these gifts are to be used for the benefit of the Body of Christ and others.
I don't remember the last time that I thought of my gifts and abilities as being a grace given ability. I understand that I am to use them for God's glory but there was a disconnect in my understanding of what these gifts were a product of. They are certainly a product of God's grace that He intended to be used as an avenue for his Spirit to work. Do we use our gifts as God intended them to be used? Do we use them as a means of distributing grace to others, or do we use them selfishly or ignorantly?
A prime example of this in scripture comes in 1 Thessalonians 3:12. Paul prays, "May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you." Through God's grace love increases and overflows in our lives. I think it is time that we start to pray for an outpouring of God's grace, not just selfishly, but so that God's grace may flow through us and into the lives of those who desperately need to know him.
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