Thinking About Grace...Part 9

"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world" (1 John 4:4).

You can't "think" about grace for very long without beginning to think about what Philip Yancey called "ungrace." No, it's not a real word, but it is a real experience. Ungrace is everything grace is not, and unfortunately, it is everything the world today is. Ungrace is being judged without compassion, being ranked, made to "achieve" everything and prove yourself at every turn. Ungrace says, "You'll never be good enough. Never. So just give up."

In the verse I quoted above, John is writing to his "dear children," those who followed him in the faith, and he is reminding them that there are really two options (he calls them two spirits) in the world: the way of Christ and the way of antichrist. Now, John isn't talking about a supposed ruler at the end of the world; he's talking about a "spirit" that seems to be opposed to anything Jesus stands for. He says you'll know those who have such a spirit by their unwillingness to confess Jesus, and in particular, their denial that Jesus has come from God. My point here is not to get into the details of all that such a declaration means; suffice it to say that the spirit of antichrist is the spirit of ungrace. It's treating people the opposite of the way Jesus would treat them.

And that's what got me to thinking about John's phrase "the one who is in the world." Normally, traditionally, we interpret that phrase to refer to Satan, the "prince of this world," and I think John probably at least had him in mind. But I wonder if John didn't also have a deeper meaning in mind, for we, too, are in this world. And we, too, often exhibit an astounding amount of ungrace toward others...and even onward ourselves.

Any time we believe the lies that we are told about ourselves, whether that lie comes from within ourselves, or from others who are telling us we are not worth anything, we are giving into the spirit of ungrace. After all, we do know who the "father of lies" is (John 8:44). When we hear those things, we need to begin to listen to another voice, a still, small voice that whispers in our spirits: "You are my child, and I love you. You are not worthless, because I created you for a purpose." Even though that voice comes in a still, small whisper, John reminds us that the one who speaks grace is greater than the one who speaks ungrace.

A few weeks ago, Rachel participated in one of those silly "like and admit" things on Facebook, but what she got back was not what she expected (or wanted). It was a message from a girl in her class who told her she would "admit" that she thought Rachel was stuck up and acted better than everyone else...and a whole lot of other "ungracious" words. When Rachel showed it to me, first of all I wanted to have a "Come to Jesus moment" with that girl. But then I realized that would do no good. (Most likely, this girl has been the victim of ungrace in her life far too often.) Instead, I did for Rachel what our heavenly Father does for us: I reminded her of what is true and what was false. I reminded her who she is, and that she is dearly loved. I spoke to her words of grace to counter and conquer the ungrace.

Greater is he who is in us than he or she or they who are in the world. There is plenty of ungrace around. I've had more than my share of ungrace. I know I need to cling to the threads of grace God hands me (as hard as it is sometimes), for those threads are more than enough to sustain me. And they will hold you, too.

Now...sit back for a few moments and enjoy this song that keeps playing in my head...it will remind you of grace.