Saturday, March 24, 2012

"Cheap" Grace

The concept of “Cheap Grace” seems to me an invalid one. It appears a misuse of the idea of grace in regard to worth. For there is/was only one price for grace and that was Christ’s death upon the Cross for the world’s salvation. Think about that, for it is a VERY… BIG… IDEA.

It seems one devalues the cost of that sacrifice when assuming another way to salvation (i.e. “good works”). Or even that we are saved by grace; BUT, we still need to contribute our part to INSURE our trip to the “Pearly Gates.”

There IS a cost to being a true follower of Christ and His message, but does it matter in the long run? I think not with regards to salvation. Rather we devalue our love and appreciation of His gift when we fail to honor it and it's full worth.

For, in knowing and following Him on Earth, He provides us comfort here and makes the time of our separation from Him bearable. That seems where I see the “good works” being of benefit. When we love and follow Him here we are likewise ever closer to Him and in that closeness we find His peace which truly passeth all understanding.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Been doing some introspection lately ...

and coalesced some thoughts I believe to be absolutes, which for me is unusual because I really don't think too much in terms of black or white but rather only shades of grey. They don't strike me as things we are ever taught and I feel that understanding them might make us better stewards of our lives. They are shared herewith:
1. No political system EVER works well for any extended length of time.
2. There will NEVER be world peace on this sphere we know as Earth.
3. Altruism only works on a person to person basis. Governments cannot force goodwill either within or outside its borders upon its citizens or others.
4. Economic theory drives interpersonal relationships as well as extra-personal ones.
5. They’s a whole lot of miles between “want” and “need”.
6. Life is what happens, instead of what we plan.
7. True peace and success only comes through a faith based understanding of our existence in this temporal life.
I reckon that I'll expand this list at some time or another but this did seem like a good start.

Peace & grace, y'all