Grace is the unbelievable, un-asked-for gift of God when he looks at barking pigs like you and me and says, " I choose you."
Thats called grace, and the Bible tells us that the grace vof God is dangerous. Lavish. Excessive. God doesn't seem top be bvery careful about the people he calls his friends or the people he calls his church. His grace is ridiculously inclusive...
The religious leaders of his [Jesus'] day had written the script for the messiah. But they didn't understand that the bible they took their script from was actually the story of God's grace in one generation after another. When Jesus announced that he was this savior of the Jews, the religious leaders screamed at him, "there's no Jesus in the Messiah script! Messiahs don't hang out with losers. Our Messiah doesn't break the rules. Our Messiah doesn't question our leadership, or threaten our religion or act irresponsibly. Our Messiah doesn't destroy his reputation by hanging out with a riff-raff or spending his time in shady places."
Jesus' reply? This Messiah does!
can you see why the opportunity to follow jesus and find a new way to be human is called good news? It's an equal opportunity faith, open to all-in spite of the abundance of playwrights in the church who are anxious to announce, "There's no place for you if you wear an earring or have a tattoo, drink wine, ask too many questions, look weird, smoke, dance, haven't been "filled with the Spirit," aren't baptized, swear, have pink hair, are in the wrong ethnic group, have a nose ring, have had an abortion, are gay, or lesbian or too liberal." the Bible is full of changed people who changed the world around them, people who were prostitutes, murderers, cheaters and adulterers."
Jesus believed that Messiahs find places for people who have no place. He invited everyone he could find to have a relationship with him-from sleazy businessmen, terrorists,. dock workers, tax collector bullies, psychotics and deranged outcasts to the rich and over privileged eliet. Why God would want us, like us, seek us and pursue us is more than bewildering. It's the best news we could ever hear. The God of the universe likes us. The God of the universe likes us! He knows who we are. He's aware of our, uh, flaws.