Steps- Part 5

In my lifetime, I have witnessed Christians pull out all the stops in the name of evangelizing. Thousand dollar lights, highly skilled musicians, massive, stadium-style events with nationally renowned speakers, entire carnivals, huge giveaways, and Starbucks gift cards galore. We LOVE finding ways to make church the hottest thing around, in hopes that our hospitality and enthusiasm will draw those around us into meeting with Jesus.  

I’m not knocking these strategies. I think it’s an incredible thing when people come together to invest into the lost as a way of reaching out. However, I think in our daily lives, we overlook an opportunity for ministry with just as incredible of a shock factor. That thing is grace.

I’ve come to learn over the past few years that no one expects grace anymore. In a high-demand world with a rapidly growing “look out for yourself because no one else will” mentality, grace is a foreign concept. Not only is it unexpected to give it, but also to receive it. The idea that I can mess up or wrong another and receive grace for it sounds like something out of a sermon because that is the only place we hear that idea anymore. Though it can emotionally be tempting not to do so, meeting the failings of those around you with the same grace God provides to us every single day catches our culture off guard, and grabs the attention of their hearts.

Working in the service industry, I can tell you that mistakes met with humanity that looks you in the eyes and extends compassion beyond a “victim’s” capacity can change the course of an entire day. It’s a breath of relief. These people officially have my attention, my interest, and my openness to listen to what they have to say. And that’s only over a couple dollars of food. Imagine receiving the same grace over something serious: a betrayal, a bad attitude, or a personal conflict. To have someone’s attention, interest, and willingness to hear what you have to say because of the place of safety you have created is to have them in the perfect spot to hear the gospel. It’s like a free sample. You think me having mercy on you for bumping my car is great? You should try permanent grace over everything you do forever. It’s fantastic.

On Sunday, Pastor Aaron shared the final part in the story of Joseph. The manner in which Joseph handles the final reconciliation with his brothers is a perfect model of the grace with which God wants us to be able to extend to others. The dignity of keeping it between those involved (“Make everyone go out from me,” Genesis 45:1), the very real vulnerability and intimacy of the moment (“Come near to me please,” Genesis 45:4), and the humanity displayed by Joseph in relating himself to those that betrayed him as family (“I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt,” Genesis 45:4) show a value for Joseph’s brothers as whole, complete individuals and not simply as categories, or occasions in time. The end result, as we know, being peace and unity as Joseph is laid to rest by those who once betrayed him.

This week, I pray you all take stock of your own attitudes and reactions to those in your life. Let us not seek to be justified, but to be extraordinary, and to use grace to grab the attention of the hearts we come into contact with. 

Written by: Brianna Vanderveen

Edited by: Tamara Sturdivant