Grace Withheld

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Colossians 3:12-14 NIV)

Although we are still 20 months away from our next presidential election, the political maneuvering has already begun and, with that, the accompanying ritual of “digging for dirt” on the prospective candidates. I read this morning an article on Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin and an assumed presidential aspirant.  The focus of the article was what type of man Walker was when he was a college student.  This, I assume, is supposed to give us insight into what type of man Walker is today.  So, from his days on campus we learn he wasn’t a particularly good student and there were hints of “dirty tricks” in his run for student president.  Hmmm.  Obviously, Governor Walker is not qualified to be President, based on what he supposedly did nearly 30 years ago.

Let me say this: I am not a candidate for President of the United States. If nominated, I will not accept.  Why, I am sure you are asking?  Well, you see, I have quite a long history of wrongdoing, particularly when I was young.  I messed up a lot.  In fact, I continued that pattern into adulthood.  You wouldn’t have to dig very deep to find that out.  Based on what I see happen to presidential candidates, I wouldn’t stand a chance.

There is little grace in politics, so the errors of judgment in one’s teens or early 20’s are dug up and used as political leverage.  From my perspective, there were so many of those in my early days that they would need a front-loader to carry them all!  And, to be honest, I continued to make them in my 30’s and 40’s; granted to a lesser extent, but I still did make them.  Really, who doesn’t have a life full of mistakes and regrets?  If an error-free life is the basis for which our characters are to be judged, then we are all condemned.  

But how easy it is, not just in politics, but in the church as well, to condemn rather than to forgive.  It is our nature to judge harshly, to take one error of judgment and use it to define a person’s life.  The question, however, that we must each ask ourselves is this: Do I want to be defined, judged, by the wrong decisions I’ve made?  I assume the answer is no.  Then, if we desire grace for ourselves, shouldn’t we be more willing to demonstrate it towards others?  

I believe this is Paul’s point to the Christians at Colossae.  They had not lived perfect lives, yet were being judgmental towards others.  They were holding grudges and were unwilling to forgive.  He reminded them that Jesus had forgiven their own sins and commanded them to have the same grace for others.  It is a reminder we desperately need today.

Are there people in your life that you hold to a standard of perfection, whose sins you are unwilling to forgive?  Then remember this: Jesus forgives your sins.  He has not withheld His grace from you.  What gives you the right to withhold it from others?

© Jim Musser 2015