What is this you speak of?

There are many topics that I fail to understand. I often answer questions with, "I don't know." I often respond to comments with a dumbfounded look.

You're like this too. This is an obvious fact of life. We don't understand everything, and if we claim to, it shows how little we know.

I hate math. I hate math, because I do not understand math. In class today, I found myself in anger. It was almost like my teacher was speaking another language. I felt like an Indian who just met the pilgrims. I mean, I was frustrated beyond belief. What do you not understand? Maybe the way your spouse communicates or fails to communicate? Maybe the way your parents act over your curfew. Or it may be life. I stand on what I said. We hate what we do not understand.

The religious folks in the new testament did not understand grace. They could not wrap their minds around anything, but rules and regulations. When people spoke of grace they tuned their ears to a different station. In their eyes, when they saw grace, they saw nonsense. They didn't understand grace, so they hated grace. Jesus supported grace. Grace was shown through the actions of Jesus. Grace was heard through the words of Jesus. Grace was felt through the hands, and the blood, of Jesus. Religious people do not understand Jesus, so religious people hate Jesus. 

Religious people? When you hear this term you may think church. When you hear the word religious you may see gargoyles or nuns. This is not what I mean by religious folk. These things may be an aspect of a certain religion, but that's not what I'm pointing to. When I say religious people, I don't mean people who go to church, even though people who attend church may be religious. Your church or your t-shirt does not define you as religious or not. When I say religious people I mean this...

Religious people are those who find themselves too good or righteous for Jesus. They are those that find themselves to be better than everyone else, and even those who find themselves to be better than some or most.

These people do not even understand the law that they attempt to represent. But, they most definitely do not understand Jesus.

Jesus came for sinners, and we are those. Jesus set down his crown, to walk as a human. He decided to humble himself and deal with our struggles. He did not do this from a distance. He came to us and walked among us! Jesus was sinless. Jesus was perfect. But, Jesus was murdered. He put himself in harms way. Jesus took death. But, it wasn't ordinary death. It was our death. We made mistakes, but He paid the literal price so that we could be victorious in the name of Jesus. We chose sin, He chose us.

Religious people hate this. They see themselves as different from sinners. They go to the altar, looking down on sinners, as if they are not one!


I don't claim to even begin to understand grace. But, I love it. I love it, because I have felt it. I embrace it, not because I am above it, but because I am below it. And yet, Jesus has still shown it.

Jesus is Lord. We are not. Love Him, know Him, and serve Him.

• "...blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed"- John 20:29b
• "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble..." Proverbs 3:34

On the other hand...

There are other things that I do not understand. Like, why should I make my bed? I'll get in and mess it up the next night. I do not understand why I have to do school work at home. It seems senseless.

Maybe your sitting there thinking that you are okay. You are not. You say your okay out of pride or laziness. You may think that you have no need to stop sinning, because you love sin. You may think that you don't need to stop sinning, because you don't sin. Don't be lazy, don't be proud, for the wages of sin is death.

Don't allow YOU to get in the way. Jesus is is everything, and if you don't have Jesus, you don't have anything.

Believe Jesus. Love Jesus. Live Jesus.