Last week was not a good week for me. I was discouraged, frustrated and just all around sad. Over the past two years, three individuals that I look up to, albeit from a distance, were removed from vocational ministry. Whether it was moral failures or abuses of power, they were all removed from the platforms that God had entrusted to them. And if you were to ask me if I ever could imagine something like this happening to any one of these guys I would have responded by saying, "Not in a million years."
Why am I so sad… why so discouraged? I am sad for the men, their families, and the communities they lead. I am sad for the countless numbers of people who will use this as their reason for Christianity being a crock. These reasons and more are heartbreaking.
But much of my sadness, discouragement, and frustration is with the guy looking at me in the mirror. Why? Well, that guy often thinks to himself "That will never be me! I would never do such a thing as that!" I don’t know the men that were removed from their positions of leadership, but I’m pretty confident that they probably thought the same thing at some point.
- No one ever plans to derail their life, their marriage, and their career.
- No one ever plans to hurt countless numbers of people.
- No one ever plans to wake up one day and declare "Today is the day I’m going to ruin everything."
Yet despite never planning to do this, it still happens ALL the time… and it often happens to the very people that say "I would NEVER do that!"
The reasons will always vary from person to person, but the results will always be the same – devastation. Sin and sinful choices always destroy… there’s no getting around that. Clearly it’s crucial to examine patterns and behaviors that contribute to sinful choices we make, but what I must remind myself … and what I’d like to remind you all of is this:
IT’S ALL GRACE!
If my focus is just on ‘not sinning’, at some point I will begin doing that which I’m focusing most on avoiding. My focus must not be on the things I don’t want to do; rather my focus must remain steadfast on grace. The same grace that brought me to God is the same grace given to me every day to keep me walking with God. My best effort to ‘not sin’ will not prevent me from sinning. But God’s grace will. His grace rescued me from sin, paid the penalty for my sin, and will empower me to live free from sin. It’s ALL grace!
“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
The beauty of God’s grace is that I can never exhaust it. How amazing is it that we can never exhaust that which we need most to keep us walking with God?
The men who were removed from their positions of leadership did not ‘fall from grace.’ That’s not how grace works. I will fall… and by that I mean I will sin. But I will never ‘fall from grace.’
God’s invitation to me… His invitation to you… His invitation to anyone and everyone is simply this – fall into grace. No matter where you are, no matter what you’ve done, no matter what you’re doing even now… God is inviting you to ‘fall into grace.’
And to be clear, grace is not an abstract concept or idea. Grace is a person. Grace has a name, and His name is Jesus. Fall into Jesus… He will not only catch you, but He will keep you with Him.
You are not far away or far off from the grace you need. Just turn to grace… turn to Jesus!
Mr Thetorise A. Twig
