A
price was paid for life,
Yours and mine and all,
The penalty for our sin,
Laid on Jesus was our fall.
He gave what only,
The Son could give,
By our faith in Him,
Only do we live.
We say what difference,
Does our faith make,
To live in Him,
Then truth's our stake.
One red hot go,
Do we give our Lord,
And life abundant,
We are assured.
But let us never,
Ever, ever be fooled,
For to be a Christian,
We must be schooled.
We need to learn,
Our purpose and our place,
How to behave,
And how to exercise grace.
But to understand,
The portions of God's good grace,
We need to have suffered,
We need to have sought His face.
For God's good grace,
We can't learn from a book,
It's about the experience of real life,
We must learn to look.
We must learn to see,
All the needs of others,
It's not just about us,
Let's love our sisters and brothers.
Yours and mine and all,
The penalty for our sin,
Laid on Jesus was our fall.
He gave what only,
The Son could give,
By our faith in Him,
Only do we live.
We say what difference,
Does our faith make,
To live in Him,
Then truth's our stake.
One red hot go,
Do we give our Lord,
And life abundant,
We are assured.
But let us never,
Ever, ever be fooled,
For to be a Christian,
We must be schooled.
We need to learn,
Our purpose and our place,
How to behave,
And how to exercise grace.
But to understand,
The portions of God's good grace,
We need to have suffered,
We need to have sought His face.
For God's good grace,
We can't learn from a book,
It's about the experience of real life,
We must learn to look.
We must learn to see,
All the needs of others,
It's not just about us,
Let's love our sisters and brothers.
***
We must learn, as brothers and sisters in
Christ, what it means to love each other. The Christian faith is nothing more
complicated than this. In spite of many overtures to the theological – to argue
Calvinism, Armenianism, Catholicism, and every other type of religious ‘ism’ –
we are destined only for schism if we forget love for all machinations of
knowledge. For by faith alone, we are nothing. And by hope alone we will be
disappointed in the end.
Everything of grace – as it depends on us –
depends on love.
If we can picture the maturity of faith in
Jesus Christ as a thing dominated by love – for love, ironically, will refuse
to dominate – we see maturity as simplicity. Maturity in the faith is a
paradox. The mature person may even appear as a simpleton; but watch for their
relational wisdom! Watch for their patience borne not of cruel calculation, but
of love. Watch for their gentleness, kindness and compassion, as it oozes forth
into the lives of others without thought for self.
This is the grace of the Lord operant in the
Person of the Holy Spirit in a person.
When a person conveys sincerity with God by
surrendering their whole will in order to align with the will of God – more or
less continuously – then a person has earned the right to be called a disciple
of Jesus.
Such a person will enjoy the regenerate power
and favour of God’s good grace.
© 2014 S. J. Wickham.
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