Grace, Not Flames

Spirituality Column #165
January 5, 2010
Current in Carmel - Westfield - Noblesville
(Indianapolis north suburban home newspapers)

Grace, Not Flames
By Bob Walters

A friend pondering a rare trip to church (possibly a life-time first … I didn’t ask) on Christmas Eve, commented, “I’ll probably burst into flames.”

Ho, ho, ho.

My, there is a lot packed into that statement: humor, surprise, humility, assumptions, conclusions, misinformation, and more than a hint of sarcasm.

But not much truth.

The comment reminded me of when I was baptized just a few years ago, wondering – considering my sin – if God would let me up out of the water.

Why is it that we think an encounter with God, like a baptism or a Christmas trip to church, is an exposure to punishment, rather than a bridge to the peace and safety of salvation?

Most of us – believer and non-believer alike – have figured out that our lives fall short of perfection; that “sin” isn’t a good thing. That my friend equated church with a Godly encounter is a good thing. Even wrapped in sarcasm, the fact that he “got” the sin thing is encouraging.

That he approached the throne of grace with fear and trepidation, i.e., “flames,” doesn’t say much for how we Christians present the throne of grace.

I wish more people readily understood that faith in Christ is the ultimate flame retardant; that any expression of that faith – even a mildly coerced Christmas trip to church – is an encounter with grace, not a fearful, flaming encounter with hell.

Christians should never allow the eternal, loving glory of God in heaven to be framed merely as the opposite of earthly sin, nor to think that what punches our ticket through the pearly gates on judgment day are fear, shame and guilt.

The Bible doesn’t provide many specifics about heaven or hell, but every bit of the Bible, ultimately, expresses God’s desire for a personal, loving, saving relationship with each of us.

God sent Jesus Christ to draw us near to Him, not to drive us away. Faith and God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8), not fear and our guilt, punch our ticket to salvation.

Quoting my wonderful Christian friend May: “Praise God that I am a sinner; it is the only thing that qualifies me for God’s grace.”

With Christmas – the birth of hope – a couple of weeks past, in this New Year let’s work on receiving, with hope and love, sinners like us into our churches. We’re all welcome.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) prays for the peace and wisdom of the Holy Spirit to dwell with us all in the coming year.