It is all grace!

Every boast diminishes grace!

Eugene Peterson’s introduction to Romans in The Message states, “And when this letter arrived in Rome, hardly anyone read it, certainly no one of influence. There was much to read in Rome — imperial decrees, exquisite poetry, finely crafted moral philosophy — and much of it was world-class. And yet in no time, as such things go, this letter left all those other writings in the dust. Paul’s letter to the Romans has had a far larger impact on its readers than the volumes of all those Roman writers put together.” Grace, unmerited favor and acceptance shared by God, is one of the powerful themes.

Recently I have written how Pat and I are pleased with and enjoy our family. This morning I considered how easily we could boast. But, bragging is a violation of grace. Crowing about accomplishments, acquisitions, and appearances, the American measurements of success, is pagan idolatry. Paul’s Letter to the Romans documents an unworthiness common to all men.

• “All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (3:12)
• “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (3:23)
And, to spare us all from falling into fouling braggadocio. Paul added ...
• You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (5:6-8)
James left this wisdom by the Spirit, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth.” (1:17-18) Or, in the Wegner paraphrase, “If it is good, it didn’t start with us.”

The warrior Psalmist declared –
I do not trust in my bow,
my sword does not bring me victory;
but you give us victory over our enemies,
you put our adversaries to shame.
In God we make our boast all day long,
and we will praise your name forever. (44:6-8)
True humility has never been fashionable in the marketplace. Instinctively, all men are braggarts. The Spirit of God alerts us again, through Paul.
Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

Friends close to us are struggling with cancer, sleep restlessly because of children who resist Jesus’ call to follow, and others are unemployed. If the sounds of pride or boast are heard from our pen, we are sorry. It is all God’s grace, not our merit in any way.

Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass captures a deep truth, “I play not a march for victors only ... I play great marches for conquered and slain persons.” Whitman adds, “Battles are lost in the same spirit in which they are won.” We have all learned that every well-intentioned effort does not end with triumph and pomp. Those we love reject our affections and God’s. Pain does its best to stifle praise. Disappointment and despair work to blind one from hope. We need grace!

Another writer carried along by the wind of the Spirit encourages us to the grace place, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) A Puritan prayer captures the appropriate spirit of Jesus’ followers, “Help me to humble myself before thee by seeing the vanity of honor as a conceit of men’s minds, as standing between me and thee; by seeing that thy will alone must be done, as much as denying as in giving the spiritual enjoyments.”

Boasting always diminishes grace! We simply cannot afford to lessen the very thing of which we need more.