Naïve Grace-Part 1
Dear Champions,
The short excerpt is by the late Mike Yaconelli, and the scripture is Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
A few years ago, I asked some friends if they would have their 2-year-old daughter, Alana, color me a page out of her coloring book. When Alana colored, she never worried about lines, realism, or symmetry. It never occurred to her that something could be wrong with her work. Alana colored the page, and she brought it to me just before Sunday morning worship service.
She was very proud and excited, anxious for my response. I did respond, in the same manner I imagine most of us would respond: I lied. "Oh, Alana, thank you for this beautiful drawing! It must have taken you a long time, and it's very special. Thank you again." Of course, part of me was thinking, This is terrible. Is red the only color you could use? How about yellow? Blue? Green? None of your strokes are even close to being within the lines. What's the matter with you? Take this back and draw it again – only do it right this time!
But I couldn't criticize Alana, in part because she exhibited grace, the grace of a child who knows it is okay to color outside the lines. Was she naïve? Sure. Would to God we all kept our childlike naivete about grace…
Most of my life, I heard the message loud and clear that Christianity was all about coloring within the lines and coloring well. If I was a good Christian, if I loved Jesus and wanted to please Him, if I read my Bible, prayed, and went to church, then I would get better and better at coloring. And if I lived a long and godly life, I would eventually be able to draw close to the perfect drawing. But wherever that message came from, it was a lie -- I am 52 years old, and my coloring still looks like Alana's.
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining
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