Alan is in the Beatson for a second round of chemotherapy. If you pray, please keep him, Liz & Paul in your prayers. Here is his latest blog post.
Saturday 14th August: Grace
I returned to the Beatson Hospital yesterday for Part 2 of the chemotherapy treatment. The first shock on arriving: I had lost 20lbs weight during my time at home, due to difficulties swallowing and regurgitation. They need to stabilise my weight here before considering more chemo. I feel quite weak with little energy and sometimes feel sick, so it is not always a pleasant feeling on this tortuous journey. But in the words of Lara Martin’s chorus, God Is Near: God is near, let the weak say I am strong; God is near, let the sick say I am well; God is near, his wonders to perform. He truly is the God of miracles and I am in need of miracles this morning!
Back to the subject of grace – maybe because it is the most underrated topic in Christendom. When the Prodigal Son went off and wasted his life and the family inheritance, he proved to be one of the most self-seeking, self-centred losers ever, and yet the Father accepted him back with open arms, laid on the grandest of parties and killed the fatted calf. God is willing to do this for the vilest offender who has ever returned to the Father. This in essence is the Gospel: a free gift, unconditional love and, yes, grace from the Father.The problem with the Christian church, however, concerns whether this kind of grace is found abounding among church members. My instant response is: very occasionally but far from the norm. Many in our churches know the story of the Prodigal, they know that grace is the only way this can happen, but somehow we slip up at translating this grace to each other.
It is not clear why this is. The human condition finds it hard to accept a free and undeserved gift, and we are constantly agitating to pay for the gift in some way. Some pay through a life of dedicated service to the church; some through sacrificial lifestyle changes. Whatever your chosen means of payment, it doesn’t work. The price has already been paid. St Paul said, even though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it will avail me nothing. I am not suggesting that all people who dedicate their lives to a Godly cause are paying for their free gift. Far from it. For many, a life of service is an expression of gratitude for this free gift. I am just saying that we need to be ever vigilant, to keep recognising that grace has been given to us freely, and freely we pass it on to others.
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