The Grace Awakening

by Charles R Swindoll

  Don't miss those key phrases: "become conformed," "He who began ... will perfect" (bring to completion),

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  "transform," and "being renewed." We are all engaged in the same process, our own "pilgrim's progress," under God's mighty hand and constant surveillance. He is working for us, not against us . . . and His plans are for good, not evil. His goal for us is clearly set forth: that we might become like His Son, "full of grace and truth."

  As I think about our becoming people of awakening grace, I believe at least three things are involved in the process:

  First, it takes time. Learning anything takes time. Becoming good models of grace, it seems, takes years! Like wisdom, it comes slowly. But God is in no hurry as He purges graceless characteristics from us. But we can count on this, for sure: He is persistent.

  Second, it requires pain. The "dust" in our room doesn't settle easily. I know of no one who has adopted a "grace state of mind" painlessly. Hurt is part of the curriculum in God's schoolroom.

  Third, it means change. Being "graceless" by nature, we find it difficult to be anything different. We lack it, we resist it, we fail to show it, but God never stops His relentless working. He is committed to our becoming more like His Son. Remember? "He who began a good work . . . vv/7/bring it to completion."

  SOME EVERYDAY EXAMPLES OF CLAIMING GRACE

  In Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis we read:

  The real Son of God is at your side. He is beginning to turn you into the same kind of thing as Himself. He is beginning, so to speak, to "inject" His kind of life and thought, . . . into you; beginning to turn the tin soldier into a live man. The part of you that does not like it is the part that is still tin. 5

  I am intrigued by the word picture painted by C. S. Lewis. While pondering the thought of those areas that are "still tin"

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  in my own life, it occurred to me that that is where I must claim the grace of God. All of us could say the same thing. And so I pulled my concordance off the shelf, located the word grace, and began to study the places in the New Testament that addressed or illustrated some common everyday examples of "tin" where most of us are still in need of claiming God's grace.

  I found five very tender spots where help is needed from our Lord: insecurity, weakness, abrasiveness, compromise, and pride. I realize these are all intensely personal battles, but if grace doesn't come to our rescue up close and personal, who needs it? And so, for the next few pages let's allow this soothing oil to touch some of the "tin" in our lives. Maybe by bringing grace up this close and making it personal, we'll be able to get rid of a few rusty spots that have been a plague long enough. I hope it will help accelerate our own pilgrim's progress toward an awakening of Christlike grace:

  1. Claiming the grace to be what I am (the "tin" of insecurity).

  After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as it were to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. (1 Cor. 15:6-11)

  In my years of ministry, during which I have rubbed shoulders with numerous Christians, I have observed that many of God's servants are afraid to be who they are. Granted, I find some who haven't a clue as to their own identity (since they are so busy pleasing people), but the majority are in another category: They know, but they are uncomfortable letting the truth be known. They are concerned about things such as their

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  image, or what someone might think or say, or more often, "If they knew the real me, they wouldn't like me."

  The scripture I just recorded is helpful. Paul writes candidly of his own poor track record. After listing the gallery of the "greats" to whom the risen Lord appeared, (Peter, James, the apostles), he states "last of all . . . He appeared to me." This is not false humility, it's historical fact. But what speaks with vivid eloquence is how Paul refers to himself as "one untimely born." You may be shocked to know the Greek term refers to one born before the full period of gestation— one who was aborted—literally, "the dead fetus." It means one who was totally devoid of spiritual life.

  If that isn't enough, Paul sees himself not simply as among the last but "least" of the apostles, having been one who persecuted the church. While those others he names were defending and building up the body, he was hard at work assaulting it, hoping to destroy it. That is Paul's estimation of himself, when he stands alongside those men of God. That could have done a number on the man's self-esteem, but it didn't. While not denying the reality of his dark side, Paul refused to cringe and hide, crippled by feelings of insecurity. Why? The answer is clear: Grace. God's awakening, invigorating grace changed his whole perspective. "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me" (ICor. 15:10).

  Grace made him what he was. Grace gave him courage to be who he was. Grace energized him to accomplish what he did. By realizing that he did not deserve and could never earn the privileges given him, Paul was freed to be exactly who he was and do precisely what he was called to do. Grace became his silent partner, his constant traveling companion, his invisible security, since he (in himself) was in no way deserving of the part he played in God's unfolding drama. I cannot help but mention that he refused to compare himself to and compete with his peers. Grace relieves us of all that. I love the way one

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  commentary describes it: "In spite of his unfitness to bear the name, the grace of God has made him equal to it. The persecutor has been forgiven and the abortion adopted." 6

  If insecurity happens to be the "tin" in your life, I suggest large doses of grace applied daily. Bring it up close and personal. You will find it has healing power, bringing soothing relief. If it worked for Paul the persecutor, I can assure you it works for insecure pilgrims today.

  2. Claiming the grace to learn from what I suffer (the "tin" of weakness).

  And because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor. 12:7-10)

  Another undeniable struggle all of us live with is our own human weaknesses, which crop up any number of ways again and again. We suffer. We hurt. We fail. We blow it. We feel bad. Medication won't relieve it. Prayer doesn't remove it. Complaining doesn't help it. Our problem? We are just human! Imperfection dogs our steps.

  In Paul's case he lived with the "thorn," some form of excruciating pain, which refused to leave except on rare occasions. When it returned it never failed to leave him weak and feeling terribly human. How could he go on in spite of such suffering? The answer is the same as before: Grace.

  It was grace that made him "content with weaknesses." And once that contentment came, strength revived within him. Not

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  even insults, distresses, or persecutions could sideline the apostle once grace gave him contentment in weakness.

  It works not only for a first-century apostle-missionary, it works for us today. By not hid
ing or denying our weaknesses, others are made to feel closer to us. Vulnerability invites people in, helps them identify with and feel comfortable around us. Grace enables us to admit our struggles. When we find contentment even in our weaknesses, the anxiety that accompanies keeping up a good front vanishes, freeing us to be real. You don't have to rely any longer on power ties or a certain brand of wristwatch or alligator-skin shoes. How easy for those things to become unspoken grace killers.

  I appreciate it when professional athletes don't hide their weaknesses, don't you? When we watch them perform with such dexterity and accuracy, we can easily believe that all parts of their lives are that slick and polished. When we lived in Boston back in the mid-1960s, Bill Russell was the star basketball center for the world-champion Celtics. It was fun watching him and his team play at the Boston Garden. He dominated the boards, and with effortless ease, he seemed to take charge of the whole court once the game got underway. The whole team revolved around his larger-than-life presence. Sports fans watched him from a distance, respecting his command of the sport. Then, in a radio interview, I heard a comment from Russell that immediately made me feel closer to him, though I have never met the man. The sports reporter asked the all-pro basketball star if he ever got nervous. Russell's answer was surprising. He said, in his inimitable style of blunt honesty, "Before every game, I vomit." Shocked, the sportscaster asked what he did if they played two games the same day. Unflappable Russell replied, "I vomit twice." All of a sudden the man no longer seemed like a specimen of athletic perfection ... he had weaknesses, too.

  We have nothing to hide when it comes to the fragile and imperfect areas of our lives. Say it! Admit it! Grace will help

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  you do so. It will get you safely through. Remember John Newton's lines:

  Through many dangers, toils, and snares

  I have already come; Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,

  And grace will lead me home. 7

  Not self-effort, not perfectionism. (May God help you who are perfectionists and those who live with you. Both need tons of grace.) I heard the other day that a perfectionist is a person who takes pains and gives them to others. Grace will help you let the cracks of your life show. Let them show! No one can identify with those who give the impression of nothing but flawless performances and slick success. We can all identify with failure and imperfection. And God has ways of honoring those times.

  I remember preaching a sermon during which I was struggling with a sore throat and laryngitis. I could not raise my voice above a whisper. So I thought, I'll save my voice by whispering. (I learned later that is the worst possible thing I could have done for my voice, but I didn't know it then.) When I finished that sermon, I wanted to run. I felt my delivery was terrible. I thought it was the worst job I had ever done. Then something surprising happened. I don't know how many people contacted me later and said, "You'll never know how that ministered to me." There I was in obvious physical weakness and pain . . . hindered, restrained by something I could not control or stop. Yet it became encouragement to others, especially those who said they wondered if I ever struggled with weaknesses. Immediately, they could identify with me rather than view me from a distance in some sort of unrealistic admiration. I think you see my point: Grace in weakness enables us to become instruments of power in God's hands.

  3. Claiming the grace to respond to what I encounter (the "tin" of abrasiveness).

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  Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person. (Col. 4:5-6)

  This "grace" has to do with our response to people. Have you noticed that life is really a series of responses? We spend our days responding to the lost who do not know the Savior, responding to those who are fellow members of the body, responding to children, to parents, to friends, to those in need, to colleagues at work, and to fellow students at school. In light of that, did you notice what Paul writes about the tendency toward abrasiveness, this "tin man" in all of us? He mentions the need for wisdom, talk seasoned with salt, the right kind of response to others. Salt here probably carries with it the idea of good taste, tactfulness, well-timed words. Grace will give us that and much more, like pleasantness. Let your speech always be attractive, charming, winsome, pleasant. When it comes to having words like that, grace is a master.

  If I had the power in my hand to touch and heal one part of the body of Christ, I would touch the tongue, certainly including my own. It is the tongue that spreads more diseases in the body than any other organ—specifically, when it lacks grace, which gives needed tact. "Tact is like a girdle. It enables you to organize the awkward truth more attractively." 8 Truth alone can be a bit harsh and abrasive. Occasionally, it is too sharp, sometimes brutal. There is nothing like a nice supply of grace to make the truth attractive. Grace helps us cushion our words so that the truth can be received without needless offense.

  Tactfulness is an approach to another human being which involves being sincere and open in communication while at the same time showing respect for the other person's feelings— and taking care not to hurt him unnecessarily. ... It involves a trust or faith in the other person and communicates this message: I trust you will be able to handle what I'm going to tell you. I respect your feelings and will do my best to guard

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  against my own destructive tendencies so that I don't hurt you unnecessarily." 9

  While I am on the subject of tact, an antidote for abrasive-ness, this is a good time for me to mention the importance of a good sense of humor. If there is anything that will help strengthen the charming magnet of grace, it is the ability to laugh at oneself, to laugh at life, to find humor in everyday encounters with people. Talk about sprinkling salt to enhance the taste! Humor works like magic.

  One of my long-term friends and mentors, Howie Hendricks, is a master at this. I have loved him and listened to him for over thirty years! Time and again I've seen him warm up hundreds of people packed in the same room—very few of them knowing each other—by his winsome words, usually spiced with humor. What an ambassador of grace! If I have learned nothing else from the man, I have learned the importance of speaking the truth forcefully and clearly, yet in a nondestructive manner. Have you observed that some communicators virtually bludgeon people with the Bible? Never my friend Howie Hendricks. And it is amazing to see how people open up once they know we care about their feelings. Who was it? Mary Poppins, I think, who said, "A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down." If abrasiveness happens to be some of the "tin" you wrestle with, grace added to your speech will help you respond to whatever you encounter.

  4. Claiming the grace to stand for what I believe (the "tin" of compromise).

  Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever. Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were thus occupied were not benefited. (Heb. 13:7-9)

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  The writer is bringing his thoughts to a close. In doing so he addresses a concern on his heart, namely the tendency on the part of some to give up the faith because times are hard. Persecutions are abounding. Martyrdom is occurring. And some are wondering, Have I really believed in vain? Should I continue this Christian walk? Some, in fact, are recanting. And so the writer takes up his pen to encourage them to keep standing for what they believe. "Don't give up! Don't concede. Don't surrender." It is the tendency to compromise that concerns him.

  That same tendency is present in every generation, certainly our own. While sitting snugly in church, surrounded by fellow Christians, we feel as strong and determined as a steer in a
blizzard. We feel like we would die for our faith. Yet twenty-four hours later, in the midst of our work, we're surrounded by those who hate the faith. It would be eye-opening to find out how many of these faith-haters know we are Christians. In the workplace there is the tendency to concede, to stay quiet when the subject of faith surfaces. Haven't you wondered why? The answer is here ... we lack grace. Maybe you never realized it before, but grace strengthens us. It strengthens our hearts, awakens in us the courage to stand firm. How? What is it about grace that gives us strength to stand up for what we believe? Maybe it is because grace keeps us from being what we are not. Maybe it is the authenticity it prompts within us. Grace strips away the tin, rips off the masks, helps us to be ourselves, so that when we speak of our faith it rings true. Could it be that you compromise your faith where you work or where you go to school because you've tried to appear to be something you're not? Grace is so relieving, so strengthening, it removes the phony.

  So far we have uncovered four areas of "tin" commonly found in ourselves: insecurity, weakness, abrasiveness, and compromise. No one can argue that we need grace up close and personal to come to terms with each. But the list is incomplete without my including a final area that plagues us all.

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  5. Claiming the grace to submit to what I need (the "tin" of pride).

  But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "god is

  OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE."

  Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:6-7)

  You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another,

  for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE

  humble. (1 Pet. 5:5)