The Only Force that will Change the World
I sat down in
the observation seats in the courtroom with my eighth-grade son who was there
to do research for his up-coming mock trial.
We sat together and watched as the convicted souls were sentenced by the
judge to a variety of fines, community service hours, and jail time. I couldn’t
help but feel the weight of sin, not just on their shoulders, but in the room. I sat merely as an observer, but I sat feeling
guilty as I itched and squirmed under the energy of the room – the room of conviction. We are all the convicts. We are all the condemned. This is the human condition – guilty. And not guilty as charged, just…guilty.
The
immensely kind and gracious judge exhibited such compassion on these convicts,
giving them the most amount of time to pay their fines and debt to society, it
was clear he would absolve their guilt if he could.
But the LAW.
The law forced his hand, he had to require payment for their sins. There is no way around the LAW.
Shouldn’t I,
as an observer, feel smug and good about myself for not having to stand before
the judge? Shouldn’t I be looking down
on these poor souls who deserve punishment for their crimes? Shouldn’t I have echoed the Pharisee, “I thank
God I am not like most men: I tithe, fast and pray…” But I felt more like that tax collector who
hung his head and beat his breast and said, “Have mercy on me, a sinner!” All I could do was sit there and pray – pray for
the convicted, pray for everyone in the courtroom, even those of us in the
observers’ seats.
Imagine if
the judge had given them their sentences and then pointed to someone else in
the courtroom waiting in the wings, and said, “but this person...this person
over there will pay your debt to society for you. He will pay the fines, perform your community
service, and serve your jail time. You are
free to go.” How would that convict have
reacted? How would you and I have reacted?
How we
receive this GRACE at this very moment reveals the truth about how well we esteem ourselves.
I am
inclined to stop the judge right there, if I was the convict, and say, Oh no no
no no no...I committed the crime, I deserve to pay the debt. I will absolve myself of my sins. How in the world can I feel good about
someone else paying MY debt? I will feel
whole and good again once I have completed my sentence and paid penance. Yep. This
way, I can prove I am a good person and be in good standing in society again. That guy
over there can have a break, he doesn’t need to pay my debt. I can do it myself. In fact, I want to do it myself.
This is LAW. The compassionate judge, who wanted the best
for his convicts, couldn’t remove the sentence.
He lessened the blow as much as possible, but they each had to pay, or
something worse would happen to them.
This is LAW. When a convict, if offered to have his debt
paid by someone else, says, Nope, I got this.
No one is going to take my sentence away from me. I want to pay it. Then I can have good self-esteem.
The
LAW. It only leads to self. It either condemns, which is humiliating, or
when I absolve my own debt, it leads to pride.
There are no other outcomes.
But
GRACE. Grace is the feeling the convict feels when he is shocked that someone else would pay for his crimes, and there is nothing he
has to give in return.
What happens to
the human heart when grace is actually received? The hardened places in our souls become
soft. Feelings happen, and I start to
look at my fellow humans differently.
Compassion wells up and even sadness when people, who are doing their
best, act sinfully.
GRACE flows where
grace has been received.
Received…..meaning,
falling to the knees in humility, opening the hands to receive, and feeling the
hardness of soul begin to melt into moldable softness. Feeling not so full of myself and how much
better I am than another person, but feeling simply grateful. Gratitude for receiving a gift I really don’t
deserve, nor that I can even repay. I'm left
speechless.
This utterly
surprising response to GRACE only happens if it is truly received. Truly taken in. It stops us right where we are and literally changes
us. Right there.
That’s why Jesus
could say to sinners, “Go, your sins are forgiven.
You’re free! Go and sin no more.” It wasn’t the LAW he was
ordering that person to keep, it was the fact that they believed what he was
saying, and their hearts were changed to willingly receive the ability to have compassion because they embraced GRACE humbly and surprisingly.
Rena Petrello
GRACE.
This GRACE embraced
is the only force
that will change the world.
The Cross, Grant Park, Ventura, CA
Comments
Post a Comment