Grace flows down on...Who?

We as Christians base our belief on the concept of grace. Jesus Christ went to the cross and died for the forgiveness of sins. Too often though, we tend to think of grace as a "keyword" in church. If you talk about grace in church, then that makes you a good Christian. My only thought to this is, when did the power of grace lose its true meaning?

The young adult group at my church, At The Water's Edge, recently did a powerful service about the true meaning of grace. It was really a special moment to see these young people, who are sometimes forgotten by some churches; present this powerful, theological content to our community with such passion and knowledge. In the end, the message was meant to challenge all of us (Christians), and to challenge our belief about grace and who "gets it." The group read stories about prostitutes, drug dealers, bigots, and murderers. People that most of us try to imagine do not exist. But the fact is, as much as we sometimes do not want to admit it; Jesus' grace is just as much for these people as it is for us.

The story that I think about is the thief on the cross with Jesus. Here is someone who probably did not do much good throughout his life. He even admits that he is "justly" being crucified. However, when he asks Jesus to remember him, Jesus tells the thief on that day he would be in paradise with Jesus. Good story, right? It helps us understand that even though we make mistakes, God still loves us. But this story says so much more. Imagine, while all of this is happening, the followers of Jesus are looking on and hearing the exchange between Jesus and the thief. These are people who gave up everything to follow Jesus. These are people who risked persecution to follow Jesus. And Jesus just promised a no good thief the same treasure that they were to receive. Talk about bringing up some questions I'm sure. I wonder what they were thinking. I wonder if they looked at the thief with disgust, thinking he must pay for his cruelties, just as many of us do today with certain criminals. I wonder, if they truly understood the message of Jesus, and saw this moment as one of the most powerful conversations in the history of mankind. I also wonder, if I would have been there, without knowing the rest of the story, what I would have thought.

You see, there are many instances that even today we find ourselves in a similar situation. Instead of some Christians running AIDS shelters, we carry signs and spew hate at homosexuals and talk about eternal damnation. Instead of trying to help and counsel a young girl who just chose abortion, we "call her a killer, call her a sinner, and call her a whore." Instead of helping "the least of these" on the side of the street in a cardboard box, we keep our eyes straight ahead, pretending we do not see them.

Jesus said to love. Love your God, love your neighbor, and love your enemies. Why do we feel that we can restrict who can receive Jesus' love and grace. Jesus never did. We have received the gift of grace so that we may go out and spread the love and grace of Jesus to everyone. Everyone. May we start.