NOT "What would Harvey do?". But it is free.

Not long ago, I did something rude. OK, most days I find a way to be rude to somebody... usually my dear wife. But this was a little over the top. I've known this guy maybe 20 plus years. A while back he divorced his wife and somewhere in there "converted" to Catholicism.

I was walking near a church where I guess he goes to Mass. From about 50 yards in the stillness of the morning as I see him walking towards the church, I open my mouth and yell pretty loud in his direction, "Tell them grace is free." He looked at me not recognizing me, and I yelled it again. He kept walking. He knows how to handle nuts.

A few minutes later, he came walking back at about the same distance. Seems he was too late to go in to mass. I was walking in circles so I was able to travel without going much of anywhere. I felt I needed to redeem my rudeness so I yelled out again and identified myself and told him I hoped he was doing well. Doing fine he said. Glad to hear it I torted. I hope he is.

Before he got there, I had been walking watching people stream into that Catholic church. Of course, I have no idea what the local priest believes or teaches. I just know how wonderful grace is and am still learning and I can't stand the thought that most of us think our being good helps us find more and more favor with God. The cross was enough. A good towards-Easter renewing thought, don't you think?

I also wonder what this guy who I rarely see anymore is thinking these days. He used to talk and sing about God some; maybe he still does. I don't know. Somewhere in that time, he went Roman. Maybe he wanted some high church. Maybe his old protestant friends weren't helpful to him when he was in his marriage rebellion-funk. It sad I don't know or I didn't care. I only heard about it after the fact so that will be my excuse.

So remind yourself that grace is free. To us. Cost everything for Jesus. But to us, free. That it has to be free. That it is either or... your merit or Christ's merit... and if it is Christ's merit, you will never, ever have to worry about how God feels and acts towards you ever again. As Steve Brown says, "that is so cool!"

In fact, remind or tell someone else that it is free.
Just try to be less rude than me. Tends to be counter-productive.
The goal is to NOT ask yourself, "What would Harvey do?".
But it is fun to be free... indeed.

Matt, our most techno-hip pastor around here, links Mark Driscoll talking about men. I'm gonna watch it too. Matt tweets a bit. So does Mark D. So do I, but not like those guys... wow.

Comments

[Michael]

What if some of the stuff you think you know about the Catholic Church really isn't true?

A few weeks ago I attended a very refreshing workshop led by an elderly Catholic nun who, among other things, recounted an experience she had way back in the 1960s of realizing/discovering that her life in Christ was completely a free gift of God, and she didn't need to add anything to it with her own efforts. It sounded exactly like Luther's discovery of grace, but the interesting thing was that there was no indication that it had put her at odds with her church in any way, and the priest who was present at the workshop made no rebuttal.

I'm not asking you to agree with everything about the Catholic Church. I certainly don't. But what if you're at least partially mistaken about what it means to "go Roman?" You mention his "conversion" and his divorce in one sentence, almost as if they're two parts of one thing. But what if they're not? You say you've known this guy for 20 or more years, but do you really know him at all?

"Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires"
James 1:19,20 ESV

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