Is the gospel of grace enough?

It is so tempting to forget about God’s unearned grace during a time when Gods people need to be motivated to pull together to do Gods work efficiently. It does not feel wise to talk about a God who chooses to build his relationship with his people on his firm, unchanging promises whether they give or whether they don’t, whether they sacrifice or not and whether they have made a pledge to be completely committed or not. It feels dangerous to say that regardless of what you pledge in terms of your money or your time, regardless of whether you have been to church every week or once a year, God has chosen to love you, like a parent whose love cannot be swayed by the decisions of a child.

It feels as if the risk is simply too high to proclaim that God’s steadfast love for you does not depend on how many church projects you take part in.  No minister feels comfortable to say these things when a church needs to be built up and when you need all the people to give their time and money and commitment and pledges, to make it happen.

We feel tempted to stop talking about unearned grace and mercy when we think about the dreams that we have for our congregations.

I get uneasy thinking of what it will take to get us there. When I think about churches that are closing down or struggling, I get restless and nervous, considering what it will take to consistently provide a Bible-based shelter for those in need of the gospel of grace.

Because it takes everybody – every member of the church, to be involved in a successful ministry. When we think of what it will take for a congregation to reach the vision of a church that God has laid out for us to be, it is overwhelming.

Even so, we do not believe God wants a congregation built by watering down the good news of God’s radical grace in order to bully people into giving a few extra bucks or offer a few extra sets of hands.

God wants his church to be built on the good news that God’s steadfast love does not depend on our faithfulness and that God’s salvation does not depend on what we do, or on how hard we do it, but that it depends on God’s firm promise to build his church on the foundation of the redemptive work of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

God knows that the message of his steadfast love and divine grace and mercy is enough to build up a people for his work.

Once you look at all the giving that God has done for you and your church and for a world lost in sin, what else can you do but respond in the same way:  by giving yourself to God through the work of Christ’s body on earth? The message of the bloody cross and the glorious open grave, is Gods motivation for his people to do what is needed.

We know that if you saw God sacrificing his Son for this work of mercy, outreach and the salvation of many, it is the only message worth giving in times of enormous needs and challenges and that it is the only motivation the Holy Spirit uses to make it all happen through Gods people's love and gratitude.

Take my life, and let it be, consecrated, Lord, to Thee! Amen.