what's enough?

'Content. That's the word. A state of the heart in which you would be at peace if God gave you nothing more than he already has. Test yourself with this question. What if God's only gift to you were his grace to save you? Would you be content? You beg him to save the life of your child. You plead with him to keep your business afloat. You implore him to remove the cancer from your body. What if his answer is 'My grace is enough'? Would you be content?' (From 'In the Grip of Grace' by Lucado)

Does this feel like a slap in the face to you like it does to me? I've always wondered how people can go from professing believer to hatred of the God they once loved in one fell swoop. But when it seems like everything is taken from you (in a spouse, a child, a job, a health bill, or whatever) it may not be so hard to take that plunge into the endless midnight of hopelessness. Scary. The only stipulation, the only requirement for such digression is that you have to completely miss the point to begin with. That's all there is to it.

God's grace IS enough. It seems too simple, yet too complicated to actually be true, but it is. It's a truth that's echoed from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21. It's what all this is all about. God's grace. See, the thing that bothers me about a lot of Christian teaching (whether in books, song or sanctuary) is that God's grace is minimized. There are so many people harping on an emotional high of abundant blessings when the right life is lived. Five steps to forgiveness. Four blanks to financial freedom. Three points to thrive. Six ways to sinlessness. I think this has got people confused. God does not promise these things to us. He promises his grace. No more.

I believe God does delight in giving things to his children, but it's not about granting us cozy lives. It's about his glory. Consider Job. If I'm not mistaken, God allowed Job's entire world to be stripped from him, sparing only his own life. Job was a man of God. And in the end, God was glorified. Still is - by the retelling of Job's story.

I am the furthest thing from a theologian or scholar, but when I read this little bit from Max Lucado, I was punched in the stomach. It was almost audible. I could almost hear his voice. 'Is my grace enough for you, Megan? What if something unbearable happens to you tomorrow? Will my grace be enough? What if I bring Waylon back to me? Will my grace be enough? What if you're faced with an incurable illness? Will my grace be enough?'

I think so. I hope so.

'If God did nothing more than save us from hell, could anyone complain? If God saved our souls and left us to live our lives leprosy-struck on a deserted island, would he be unjust? Having been given eternal life, dare we grumble about an aching body? Having been given heavenly riches, dare we bemoan earthly poverty? The vast majority of us have been saved and then blessed even more! But there are those times when God, having given us his grace, hears our appeals and says, 'My grace is sufficient for you.''