I got to give a church talk on this......
(Began with a biking story of Wayne and I being hooked to our bikes and falling over into the street on a highly trafficked area. It was so embarrassing.)
Totally stuck. Embarrassed. I wanted Grace.. Grace from drivers who would tell this story around their dinner table about two bikers who couldn’t get up. Grace from Wayne… who displayed great patience with me and gave me the shoe idea to help us get unstuck.. Grace for myself… talk nice to myself, laugh about it, pour on a ton of compassion over my humanness.
Today I would like to talk on GRACE. First: Earthly Grace. Second: Heavenly Grace
Grace is my word for 2022….
The definition of Grace is ….. Unwarranted kindness and consideration, Proactive acceptance… the feeling of: And I love you anyway
I have so much grace for leaders of our church. Grace for political leaders. I have grace for my children. Grace for myself.
Grace is not necessary when people do things ‘right.’ When people agree with us..then there’s no grace required.
Grace is only required when people do what we don’t like. Say what we don’t agree with. When we don’t see things the same way….that’s when Grace comes into play.
When you see that political facebook post that your friend shared that you don’t agree with– put some Grace around that
When you sis in law says something about covid or masks or vaccines that you don’t like – Grace
When a church program isn’t being ran like you think it should – grace
When you yell at your kids again – grace
When the nightly news get you all riled up – grace
When your child or spouse leaves the church – wrap some grace around that.
When people make negative remarks about your LGBTQ kids - grace
When your cashier messes up and is slow - grace
When that car cuts you off in traffic - grace
When that neighbor says or does that one thing that drive you nuts - grace
When your husband get you bike clips that you can’t get out of - grace
And why would we want to extend this Christlike Grace to others and ourself? Because it’s transformational…it’s what Christ would do. Because we are the ones who get to feel the love and charity for others. Which feels so much better than anger, outrage, hatred, disdain, ego and bitterness. Grace feels so good…. And I love you anyway.
I’m hungry for Grace for myself and for others…. and I have read and listened to so much on this topic.
The ultimate Brad Wilcox talk… His grace is sufficient 2013-- really opened my eyes to what Grace is. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2013/09/his-grace-is-sufficient?lang=eng
Adam Miller’s book … Grace is not God’s back up plan. It is the plan. https://www.amazon.com/Grace-Not-Gods-Backup-Plan-ebook/dp/B00U1WBCXQ
Elder Uchtdorf’s talk on Grace https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/dieter-f-uchtdorf-the-gift-of-grace?lang=eng
I am so hungry for messages of grace.
I love the song “ Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.”
I can find Grace in our sacrament hymns….. “I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me, confused at the Grace that so fully he profers me.” Profers means comes right up to me and gives it to me… I don’t have to move.
The scriptures give us many Grace filled parables. Parable of Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, the Prodigal son. The sheep, the coin, the son do NOTHING to be found-- the action is in the Shepherd, the Seeker, the Father. THAT’S GRACE. GOD meets us where we are at. HE too runs for us. He is always willing.
What is the scriptural definition of Grace? Grace is divine help and strength that we receive through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Through grace, we are saved from sin and death. In addition, grace is an enabling power that strengthens us from day to day and helps us endure to the end. Everyone on earth experiences physical death. Through the Grace of Jesus Christ, all will be resurrected and will live forever. (church website)
The scripture that always tripped me up was 2 Nephi 25:23 “Saved by Grace after all we can do.” I always read this incorrectly thinking doing was the important part. The first part of scripture gives me hope..the second part feels hard. Sounds like it’s all about works. All about obedience. ALl about a checklist. All about us. Not about Christ. But the Brad Wilcox grace talk really unpacked this for me. Now I read it and think..saved by Grace after all is said and done.
No matter how many times I read the Book of Mormon, guess what? It’s still Grace that Saves.
Or…...How many times I go to the temple
Or…...How many missions I go on.
Or …. How perfectly I try to obey
Or……..How many callings I accept…… it’s still Grace that saves.
So why would I do anything if I’m just saved by Grace? If we know we can’t be perfect, then why even try? What’s the point? Eat drink and be merry..right? And of course, we go there, because that’s where the “scripture math” takes us. We think if we can control what we do, we control the outcome. “Scripture math” leads us to some idea that we can control GOD. Like Pharisees in the New Testament perfect DOING hijacked their BEING Christlike,.... Our perfect doing in the name of saving ourselves hijacks the GRACE narrative.
Isn’t it wonderful we don’t have to be perfect.
We all sin. We all mess up.
So why improve? Why do we want to be better?
I really like the library and books analogy Brad Wilcox gives to this earth school of ours. This analogy is about our Heavenly parents giving us a huge library filled with books in the afterlife. But….this is only a gift if we can read. The service we give and the work we do towards being more Christ-like and loving in this life is teaching us how to read -- so in the next life, we are ready to receive more, learn and grow in God’s library. By being obedient in this life we are learning to love what the Lord loves.
We want to keep the commandments because we love God. We want a relationship with God. IT’s not transactional -- I do this and God gives me this. It’s Transformational… I want to be close to God. I want to be able to read so when given access to a library I can use it and be ready and excited for it.
When we understand Grace it’s liberating. We realize God isn’t keeping score. We just need to do simple things. Primary things… called primary not because we learn in primary but because these are the basic building blocks of faith that keep us close to God.-- Pray, read, obey. Believe in Christ. Repent. Simple things like come each week to church and take the sacrament and hear the sacrament prayer… and remember, be willing to serve and bear testimony. Simple things like giving others a break. Find people fascinating and learning..wrap them in compassion, curiosity and stay out of judgment.
THAT I can do.
My brain keeps offering up my old patterns around GRACE--- that I have to keep DOING in order to prove something…to prove my worth.
I’m getting better at saying to myself ...that’s what I used to think...now I know more.
What I know is I believe in Christ and his atonement and I DO things - keep His commandments – serve in His kingdom– be kind and honest in my relationships so I can be in a relationship with Christ. To be more like him. It’s transformational. That’s it – full stop.
Brad Wilcox in his Oct 2021 conference talk says this.. “His grace is not just a prize for the worthy. It is the divine assistance He gives that helps us become worthy. Grace is not just a reward for the righteous. It is the endowment of strength he gives that helps us become righteous. We are not just walking toward God and Christ. We are walking with them.”
Transformational Relationship.
Isn’t it wonderful we don’t have to be perfect to access God’s grace?
“Be ye therefore perfect….eventually.” - E. Holland.
“ yay come unto Christ and be perfected in Him. By his Grace you may be perfect in Christ. “ Moroni 10:32
What does stepping into GRACE look like?
Allowing more GRACE for myself---More compassion, more curiosity, more tenderness… talking nice to myself like Jesus would to a child who messes up.. Picking myself back up when I fall, when I sin which I will do again and again, repenting and knowing that Jesus is my guy. He’s my partner in all of this. I want this relationship. I believe in Christ
I embrace Grace...which in turn has given me more faith, love and hope. ANd helps me be more willing to extend Grace to my fellow earth travelers..who are different than me, who don’t think like me, or don’t do or say what I want.
I stand all amazed at the LOVE and GRACE Jesus offers me. Oh it is wonderful, wonderful to me.
Wayne and I have gotten back on our bikes and have changed our clips and have biked thousands of miles at this point. We kept at it and kept learning and growing and giving each other grace along the way.
Grace may we live in it, may we love it, may we offer it to others, may we know it’s a beautiful Gift from God.
In the name of Jesus Christ amen
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