Grace in the Rearview Mirror

Many years ago, I spent some time traveling on the road as sales representative covering five states. It was during this time that I think I became a more patient and deliberate driver.  I just discovered that my schedule allowed for taking my time and enjoying the drive.

Today, Sherry often points out that it would be okay to drive a little faster.  I have been known to drive considerably under the speed limit.

But all that changed this past month.  Zoom! Zoom! entered my life.


Call it mid-life or call it what it was - a time to replace the old car. Whatever it was ... a fun new dimension entered my life - a new Car.  And with it fun.  This is certainly an upgrade from my old car ... and yet is somewhat familiar as it is the same model of car that I bought new right after graduating from college.
However, this car has a problem of sorts - speed.

This car unlike my old car doesn't shake, rattle, and roll at 70 mph. As a result, I find myself for the first time needing to watch my speed because passing cars is once again fun! 


So on the way home the other night - fun presented itself in the form of a slow moving Amish buggy on a quiet and lonely road. 

Zoom! Zoom! and off we were running with music blaring.  The acceleration ... the thrill ... the fun ... and did I mention the speed?  

Out of no where ... well actually ... I went flying by them going in the other direction.  I wasn't being reckless ... I just forgot to slow down.  I was over the speed limit and I knew it. 

Window down ... License ... Registration ... Insurance. And yes, we were all wearing our seatbelts! My wife is trying not to laugh ... the irony of the slow one in the family being pulled over for speeding was not missed.  The irony that the Amish Buggy was catching up and about to pass us was not amusing me either!

As I was quickly trying to calculate the cost of the ticket while contemplating the theological implications of praying for grace in the midst of a traffic violation.

The officer asked, "Do you know why I pulled you over?"

What do you say in that moment?

I confessed, "I was speeding."  No excuse.  No Story.  Just a confession and an apology for not realizing I was going that fast.

Another question, "Where you headed?"

"Home." was my reply.

Then comes the waiting.  The long wait that just keeps getting longer.

The officer returned.

And with him ... Grace.

Yep! Grace showed up in a most unexpected place - the rear view mirror as he spoke,

"Home is a good place to be ... especially with family ... just a reminder slow down ... and be sure to get everyone home safe."

And like that it was done ... Everyone (okay maybe it was just me) breath again. 

Blood pressure back to normal. And Zoom! Zoom! was back on the road but not nearly as fast.

Grace showed up in a most unexpected place - the rear view mirror.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5:6-8 NIV

Grace is there everyday for us ... take a look in the rearview mirror and be surprised by Grace!

Answer the Call with the People Around You

It seems that privacy (even in relationships) is really hard to come by these days with a world that is ever connected.  Have you ever thought to yourself, the world might be better without cell phones?

The world is connected in an instant … need proof? You are reading this blog! (Gotcha!) Some of you I don't even know, but for this connection. And yet I am somehow connected to you via this thing called the internet.  

The beauty of this connected world is that it can breaks down the divisions that often keep us apart - things like economics, race, income, social status, etc.  The end result is that Social Division and Personal Isolation have decreased … Sort of … Because this connected world has also led to a mixed bag of outcomes that means Social Division and Personal Isolation have increased. 

You see our globally connected world has caused us to lose some of the common practices in our daily lives that brought about community. In the past two decades:

• Attendance at community club groups is down 58%
• Daily Family Dinners have decreased by 43%
• And the simple practice of having friends over has decreased by 35% 

There are 7 Billion people in the world all connected at an instant and yet they are learning to live life alone while remaining connected to one another. This is the irony of the ever-connected world …

I wish I could tell you that is a problem that has eluded the church. After all from the beginning while Jesus called each of us individually and yet we seemed to find ways to keep one another at a distance. 
 
What is most often translated church in the Bible is really Ecclessia, A Greek word meaning a gathering of the called out ones – that is us – that is the church. 

This Ecclessia (gathering) was to be the cornerstone of our life together as disciples. 

For [Christ] Himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility Ephesians 2:14 NIV 

I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. John 17:11 NIV 

You see, living our faith in this world cannot done be done alone. That was never the plan! And yet, the history of our faith has not played out that way.  As Christians, through the centuries (and still today), we hold onto old divisions both inside the church and outside. We mark our territories … by theology, by creed, by race, by economics, by politics. As a result, instead of the church being a place of unity, we become a house divided unto ourselves.  Fighting over petty things … that in the totality of our existence don’t matter! 

And that was never the plan or the call for each of us. Our call was to love God and love one another.
And that love is more than just a connection … it is a relationship. 

The proof of this is FACEBOOK. Of the many friends that you have connected with … how many do you have a relationship with?  A real relationship … call them in the middle of the night … have them take the call. 

We have learned to settle for connection … and in so doing we have come to believe that connection is the same as relationship. 

In answering God’s call in our lives, we are called to live our faith together. And our coming together is something quite unexpected. The reality of it is this … look around … we are not the same … our coming together is quite unexpected … the only thing that could possible bring us together is the call of God in our lives. 

And th irony of our coming together as individuals is that we need each other. We do our best work together. That is a cornerstone of Methodism – we can do more together than we can separately. 

You see … this call we each receive is never isolated … it can’t be … You love others when you are in relationship with them … not simply connected but in relationship with! And that is the church – the gathering of the Ecclesia – or the Called Ones. We are called out of this world (as exiles) to practice together our calling to Love God and Love others. 

And that means that ‘my call’ will only truly discovered in the context of ‘our call.’ It is then, and only then, that we will be free to live our calling as individuals and as a church. And boy do we need to get better at living our call – individually and as a church. That’s in part why we gather each week - we need the practice. That’s why we encourage you to get involved with a small study group. 

Because every time we gather together – we each bring our brokenness, our loneliness, our emptiness, our disconnection with us. And yes, the result is that our life together in community is often more broken than whole – more divided than one … and that is okay … as long we as continue together to practice and practice and practice – in order to get better … to get it right … 

Because when we as a community of Called Ones get it right … it is a wonderful thing! The trouble for many is that countless moments go un-noticed by most of the world.

And I know that there are also times we get it wrong … and that is why we (in part) we keep coming back together --- to rehearse --- in hopes of getting it wonderfully right again … 

So don’t give up on us … Help us by learning to spread that message of hope and love for something more … Answer the call and be part of the voice that calls others to God … 

We want to be a place in this world … in this community … where God is loved first and fore most and our love of God drives us to love others … We won’t be perfect … and it won’t always be pretty or easy … Some of our difficulties in living out this call our summarized in the great quote:
“I love humanity; it is people I can’t stand”

I am still convinced that was uttered by someone having just left a church committee meeting! But I might remind you … It is the people and not humanity that we are called to love … We are connected to humanity … we are in loving relationships with people!  And it is those people that We are called to love tenderly and to serve 

We are called together to live this calling … and we are called to practice it over and over …
So I urge you to seek one another out … and practice loving one another … and keep practicing until we can always get it right.