Here are a few observations.

There is, at one level, something right about people’s expectations. Because Jesus expects much from those to whom much has been given (Luke 12:48). And Paul encourages undershepherds to watch our life and doctrine closely (1 Tim 4:16).

But on another level, these expectations place an impossible burden on a pastor. Because, like any member of the congregation, he is a sinful human being who though forgiven still struggles with sin.

As I reflected on this truth I realised that something similar can be going on in churches all the time. Though, as individuals, we are conscious of our own sinfulness (and our total reliance on God’s grace) we look around us and assume everyone else has got it sorted. It is as if I need grace but I assume YOU don’t. And that kind of false assumption is what stifles openness – as we’re terrified of sharing struggles that we assume no one else faces.

Another peculiar irony of this phenomenon is that it can lead to judgementalistm. So if I look at you and you present as if you’ve got it all sorted, then it is easy for me to become critical of the things which you obviously haven’t got sorted! When in fact we’re all in the same boat, none of us have it sorted, and we’re all utterly dependent on grace.

And all this is why we need to keep coming back to grace, revelling in it, and seeking to live out its implications in our interactions with one another. That is one of the reasons we have just started a series all about grace. You can hear the first in the series here. And you might find some further mulling on the above in the sermon on Sunday evening…

Do you remember the scene? There’s a man who has been paralysed for thirty-eight years (v5) and Jesus tells him to get up and pick up his mat and walk (v8). And he does! Wonderful – praise the Lord – what an evidently good thing to have happened.

But rather than praising God for the wonderful work He has just done, the Jews immediately start grumbling about Sabbath-breaking (v10). You would think the first thing you might say to the man in this situation is ‘Halelujah!’ or ‘It’s great to see you on your feet’ or even ‘How are you feeling to have left the spot you have been lying for the last thirty-odd years?’, but their first recorded statement is an accusation about carrying his mat on a day that it was forbidden (**).

And then I realised that I often react in the same way. I hear of some new work or ministry – and my first thought is to question it because the people organising it might not share exactly the same theology as me. Shouldn’t I rather be praising God that a new work is starting? This is not a plea to be undiscerning, but it is a reminder to myself of the primacy of grace and the dangers of jumping to judgements and missing the joy.

Lord forgive my legalistic and judgemental spirit.

* Actually the text just refers to ‘the Jews’ but given the rest of the testimony of the NT it is not unreasonable to assume at least some of them were Pharisees.
** At least, on their understanding of the law it was forbidden, though that is certainly debatable whether this is really the sort of thing that the 4th commandment is about.

It also brought the opportunity to finish reading Tim Chester’s excellent:

What is so special about this book, is that it looks to dealing with the underlying sinful tendencies, thoughts, and processes, rather than simply being a self-help book dealing with the externals. It is honest, Biblical and extremely challenging. And worth reading, and then reading again. Thanks Tim.

This is a refreshing little series of meditations on Psalm 51. They will warm your soul and keep grace where it should be – at the forefront of our hearts and minds.

I have been reflecting on this whole question of grace quite a bit recently. I am saddened by the way my own particular constituency of Christ’s church, which is (often) so good at preaching grace, often seems so poor at living grace (and of course I am including my own failures when I make this sweeping generalisation).

I think it is Tim Keller who reminds us that “religion is the default mode of the human heart” – and perhaps herein lies one of the reasons for this particular shortcoming. We can be so keen to believe and hold on to the truth (a right instinct) that we inadvertently make our own ‘system’ and understanding of ‘orthodoxy’ the religion that we follow – our own neat conceptions of what God is like (and likes!) become the idol of our heart. And anyone that doesn’t quite measure up is somehow ‘outside.’

And even as I write this, there is a voice in my heading telling me that some people will think I’m going liberal if I suggest that God’s own view of things might be slightly larger than our own carefully worked out systems. There is a sense that the ‘eyebrow of orthodoxy’ might be raised quizzically at the suggestion that loving Jesus and trying to follow Him might be enough – even if we don’t tick all the theological boxes we have tried to put Him into.

And that is why, as we were meditating on 2 Kings 5 this morning, that my eyes were drawn to verses 17-19:

17 “If you will not,” said Naaman, “please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the LORD. 18 But may the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this.”
19 “Go in peace,” Elisha said. (NIV)

I take it that the request of verse 17 (and the declaration of verse 15 – “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.”) is meant to demonstrate that Naaman had come to some kind of faith. And yet verse 18 shows that in the messiness of his life, he wasn’t going to be able to live quite the life a more orthodox Israelite would have demanded. Whilst I am aware that the issue here is one of praxis rather than belief, we see God’s grace on the lips of God’s prophet – “Go in peace.”

Lord Jesus, help us to live and speak likewise.