Exchange Blame for Grace!

Exchange Blame for Grace!

Exchange Blame for GraceIsn’t it so easy to see the wrong in others? Since Adam and Eve, we’ve tried to blame anyone and everyone but ourselves. Sometimes we even blame God in order to make ourselves feel a bit better. But it does not work in the long run. We don’t get any cleaner by taking mud baths. Maybe it is time to exchange blame for grace?

Look! Listen! God’s arm is not amputated—he can still save.
   God’s ears are not stopped up—he can still hear.
There’s nothing wrong with God; the wrong is in you.
   Your wrongheaded lives caused the split between you and God.
   Your sins got between you so that he doesn’t hear.
(Isaiah 59:1-2, MSG, emphasis added)

Ouch. There we have it: there’s nothing wrong with God; the wrong is in us! Lord, have mercy!

The only way to get cleansed inside out is through repentance and asking for forgiveness. But we don’t need grace just to cleanse us from unrighteousness. We are totally dependent on God’s grace to live fully. Maybe it’s time to exchange blame for grace for good.

As Jerry Bridges has said it: “We are brought into God’s Kingdom by grace; we are sanctified by grace; we receive both temporal and spiritual blessings by grace; we are motivated to obedience by grace; we are called to serve and, finally, we are glorified by grace. The entire Christian life is lived under the reign of God’s grace.”

Living in grace is indeed wonderful. That’s why need to keep company with Jesus. We need to stay in God’s presence and be motivated to obedience by grace. John Piper instructs us “Consider Jesus. Know Jesus. Learn what kind of Person it is you say you trust and love and worship. Soak in the shadow of Jesus. Saturate your soul with the ways of Jesus. Watch Him. Listen to Him. Stand in awe of Him. Let Him overwhelm you with the way He is.” That is how we exchange blame for grace for good. That is how we continually enjoy God. That is how we joyfully live in grace all the days of our lives. Come, Lord Jesus!

 

Gracious God,
I come to you humbly asking for forgiveness.
I come to you asking for your grace.
Because I can’t save myself.
Because all the wrong is in me, not in you.
Also forgive me for blaming others
for my misgivings and trespasses.
Enable me to exchange blame for grace for good.
Empower me to continually live in your grace.
May only Your will happen in my life,
Amen

Q4U: Do you live/do you want to live in grace? Have you already exchanged/are you ready to exchange blame for grace? God is waiting for you with open arms!

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you exchange blame for grace!

Photo courtesy of Evan Schneider, design by Mari-Anna Stålnacke. This post is refurbished from 2011. Linking up with Unite the Bloggersphere and #tellhisstory.

4 thoughts on “Exchange Blame for Grace!

  1. Grace . . . a cornerstone of the life of faith but so easy to forget. It’s a struggle for me. And no, we don’t get any cleaner by taking mud baths. That’s a great visual.

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