In the Grip of Grace-1

Sorry it's taken so long for me to update. It's been a few crazy days! Anyways, I thought I'd start sharing my thoughts on In the Grip of Grace. Feel free to comment on what your thoughts are on this book. Well, here it goes.

The book opens telling a story about 5 sons. The oldest son is wise and obedient whereas the three youngest are rebellious and certainly foolish. Near their house was a river with a fast current that would carry anything past the mountain. One day the youngest sons ventured closer than ever to the rushing river and through a series of events found themselves farther down the river than they had ever been and past the mountain. They waited for days for their eldest brother to come for them. Every night they would meet back by the fire near the river. One night the oldest of the 4 didn't return and the other three set forth to find him. He was building a house. You see, he had given up hope and decided to settle for what his surroundings were and settle amongst the savages. The second of the 4 judged his older brother and point at all of his sins and made camp outside his house. The 2 youngest returned to the river and waited for another night. The next morning the youngest son found himself alone by the fire. He searched for his brother and found him next to the river stacking rocks. He decided he was going to build a bridge all the way up the river and prove to his father he deserved forgiveness.

The firstborn son finally came to rescue his 4 younger brothers. However, when he arrived he only found the youngest. He searched for the middle three and each one passed up his offer on returning home. The oldest of the 4 denied even knowing him and choose to continue living his savage ways; he became the "hut-building hedonist." He choose to forever live outside his father's will and engage in savage acts. The middle son was too focused on condemning his older brother; he became the "fault-finding judgementalist." He never acknowledged his faults were just as great as his brother's. The 2nd youngest continued to gather rocks and build a stone path up the river. His brother told him he would never make it and that he didn't have to prove himself worthy; his father had already forgiven him. He never listened and thus became the "rock-stacking legalist." The oldest brother returned to the fire where he had left his youngest brother. He quickly to his brother why the 3 middle brothers choose to not return to their father. The youngest hopped on his brother's back and together they made it up the river.

Which brother have we become? Throughout our lives, we play the role of all three, but today, are we ignoring God's truth, condemning others, proving ourselves worthy, or are we riding in the Grace Jesus has offered us through God's forgiveness.

I myself typically live as the condemning brother or the unworthy brother. Lately I've spent so much time trying to prove that I am worthy of so many things other than just God's amazing grace. What about you?