Dust Kicking

Permit me to do some spiritual dust kicking on the topic of grace.

Jesus was an offensive guy.

What he did kicked up some serious dust, upset people's religious sensibilities, and ultimately got him killed.

So, in that same tradition, let me to do some spiritual "dust kicking" concerning the topic of grace.

Grace means everyone ultimately ends up fully restored and reconciled to God and to everyone else.

Grace means that our ultimate salvation and destiny is 100% in God's hands.

Grace means God has loving and redemptive plans for each one of us.

Grace means that finally what God wants for us is more important that whatever we may think we want for ourselves.

Grace means that we can't take credit for our faith, or our salvation, or any other good thing.

It's all Grace.

All the glory and credit go to God.

If you're saved it's by grace that God wants you saved.

And since God wants us all to be saved, grace means we all eventually will be saved.

There's nothing we can do to stop God from assuring a happy ending and an ultimate restoration for God's entire creation.

Resist God all you want.

There will come a time, either in this life, or after this life, when you won't want to resist anymore and you will realize what a fool you have been.

Why?

Because God works his judgments on us until we finally see the light, come to our senses, and want to come back home.

The more we resist the greater more unrelenting and devastating the judgment of God will become.

How long and how severe are God's judgments?

They are however long and however devastating they need to be.

Make no mistake.

Just because all of God's purposes toward you are loving and redemptive, that doesn't mean God is a giant teddy bear who would never bring you to your knees in however much misery and regret is necessary for your redemption.

God will get through to each one of us.

And it will be as ugly as it needs to be.

But, finally, for everyone, the result will be the same.

We will come to our senses.

We will make our way back home, and we will be grateful for every step back no matter how difficult.

And we will see how it was grace all along; always ever grace.

And we will laugh about any thought we ever had that it could have ever been any other way.