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

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