More Grace

I came upon some beautiful words that have captured my heart. They are found in James chapter four.

The chapter starts out by James asking, "What causes these fights and quarrels among you?" James is seeing outward strife between God's people and he wants to address it. He answers his own question, "Isn't it from the desires that battle within you? You want something but you don't get it, so you kill and covet. You don't have because you don't ask, and when you do ask, you ask with wrong motives, to spend it on your own pleasures" (vs. 1-3).

James is seeing problems in their outward, relational lives, which he attributes to problems in their inner lives.

He goes on to say, "You adulterous people! Don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred towards God! Anyone who chooses to be friends with the world pits himself against God" (vs. 4).

Clearly, James isn't worried about offending these people! He is basically saying that these believers made a commitment to God but now it's like they are cheating on Him by the way they are living. James makes it really clear you can't have it both ways. Either you're committed to the way the world runs or you are committed to God's ways.

James goes on to explain why committing to the world will cause nothing but internal strife for these believers.

"Do you think the Scriptures say without reason that the Spirit that He caused to live in us envies intensely?" (vs. 5)

The Spirit in us envies intensely.

What interesting words. James is making the point that for believers, we can't live a happy, joy-filled life following the world. The reason? There is an internal battle going on! The Spirit within us is literally fighting for it's rightful ownership of our lives. It's a reminder that we are not our own but were bought at a costly price. (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Again, we cannot have it both ways!

So where do you think James goes next with his thoughts? He has just addressed some big problems in these believer's lives and if I'm honest, I thought his next words might be something like,

"Get it together guys!" or "You should be embarrassed of yourselves, you can do better!"

But it isn't even close to either of those. The next words are so surprising and absolutely beautiful, It says,

"But He gives us more grace" (James 4:6).

Wow.

James points out the problems but he also lays out the beautiful solution!

He turns our eyes from our sinful state and directs them to our kind Father. He doesn't say, "Just try harder!" Instead he explains that God has an answer to our rebellious, wandering hearts - the answer is His grace!

But there's more! The verse continues, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

It's the humble that receive grace. This is important. So what does humility look like in this context?

I believe it looks like owning up to our sin problem, confessing it, and then repenting.

Since I can relate with these believers that James is writing to, for me is sounds something like this,

"God, thank you for showing me this area where my heart is prone to wander from you. I far too often look to the world to try and make me happy, even if deep down I know that it never truly will. I know that I consistently struggle with coming under your good authority in my life. Help me to become increasingly dissatisfied with the insufficiency of my ways. Lord, grow my trust in you as I see again and again that your ways are infinitely better. Please align my desires to match your own. Father, I can't make these changes on my own, I need you. I'm sorry for this ugly sin. My selfish desires and wrong motives are not only a sin against you, but they hurt others as well. Thank you Jesus for paying the ultimate price and forgiving me. You absorbed all the wrath that I deserved, now I get to receive the grace. Show me where I need to ask others for forgiveness. Please help me turn away from these broken ways of relating to you and others and help me live a different way...your way."

In keeping with His promise, God pours out His grace in abundance. He desires all those things for us as well.

This is how God changes us.

-We fail.

-We are aware or God shows us the failure.

-We humble ourselves and own it.

-We confess it verbally and are forgiven

-We repent by turning from the failure towards God and asking for a different way to live.

-God pours out more grace.

This process happens again and again and God slowly changes us over time. In His grace and by His Spirit, we become more like Christ by one degree of glory to the next.

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18 emphasis mine).

Isn't this crazy encouraging? Because of Jesus' work on the cross, we now have a framework for true change! In this process, we aren't being asked to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and just "do better" and "be better." We don't have to act like we are better than we actually are. We aren't left alone in our brokenness and failures; continually hiding from shame and torn apart by guilt. We don't have to live in fear, God is not bringing the hammer down here.

Quite the opposite.

He is fully aware of our sin and failures and yet is continually drawing us in and pouring out His grace upon us. It's the exact reason Paul can say that it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance (Rom. 2:4).

It's beautiful.

May we humbly lean into God's process of change for us this week. May He also imprint the reminder of His great grace on our hearts!

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