Why I don’t believe in grace.

The other day, Ray Lewis, played his last game in Baltimore’s stadium. After 17 wildly successful years, he’s retiring.

At the end of the game, he took off his jersey to reveal a shirt that said, “Psalms 91.”

I smiled at that. But then deep in my heart, I thought, “Yeah, but that guy was part of a double homicide. Whatever.”

And there it is.

I don’t believe in grace.

Or, I believe in it for me, and people who have sinned like me. But there’s a whole lot of people I don’t think deserve grace.

The problem is that, when we talk about grace, we often don’t use one of the most important words to describe it.

We say, “Grace is powerful and free and beautiful and amazing.” But we leave out one of the key descriptors of grace.

The truth is, grace is offensive.

Grace offends in its’ generosity.

Grace offends in its’ availability.

Grace offends in its’ depth.

Grace offends in its’ unwillingness to be controlled or owned or manipulated.

Grace is offensive, and when I see people who I think don’t deserve it, I am reminded of ultimately how desperately I still need it.

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