The Courage Of Conviction

One of the things that struck me about the life of William Wilberforce, the man who led the abolition of slave-trading in England during the 18th century, was the need for others to bolster him to live out with courage the call of his convictions.  

Young Wilberforce met with Benjamin Franklin - a lone voice at the time in the United States for the abolition of slavery.  He met with King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to see how those who indulged in power lived.  But one of the most important voices in the life of William Wilberforce was John Newton, a former slave-trader, turned follower of Jesus, who was something of a father-figure to Wilberforce.  He was the man who urged him to stay in the political arena and live out his convictions.  You may also recall that Newton penned the most famous hymn in Christendom: “Amazing Grace”.  

Indeed, it is the encouraging, strengthening, conviction-led community of believers that serve as an act of God’s grace to live by biblical convictions.

Christian Heroism

Aristotle once wrote: 

“Courage…brings pain, and is justly praised; for it is harder to endure what is painful than to abstain from what is pleasant.”  

Sometimes, we prove our courage not so much in the things that we engage in, but also the things in which we endure.  

In that vein, Jackie Robinson is a picture of courage and heroism.  The Hall-of-Famer who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball was a lifelong victim of racism.  He struggled with anger over the many injustices he faced, but his Christian faith led him to draw from those life lessons in order to change the game of baseball and the lives of black Americans forever.  A Methodist preacher named Karl Downs taught Robinson as a young man that a life truly dedicated to Christ was not being submissive when enduring hardships, but it was truly heroic.  

And what a model Robinson gave us…not simply for persevering courage, but Christian heroism!

Cheap Grace

It was Dietrich Bonhoeffer who coined the phrase, “cheap grace” and by it he meant a grace that was taken for granted by its recipients.  Of course, the word “grace” means “unmerited favor”, something you get whether you deserve it or not.  Bonhoeffer was, of course, concerned that people viewed grace as an excuse to sin.  Free things are often not as valued and too many have cheapened God’s grace at the cross by not living as a disciple of Jesus; they’ll have Him as their Savior, yet not as their Lord.  

I would add one thing to that - it is also cheapened when we do not extend this grace to others; when we hoard God’s grace to ourselves, and fail to offer it as a gift to someone who makes things tough for us.  Giving grace to the easy-people only is hardly grace.  

Grace—free, no-strings-attached, favor to those who make things difficult—is not cheap at all!  And it is precious in God’s sight.

Love...the very flame of YHWH Himself

It is important once again to remember the omnipresence of God, that is, that God is not simply everywhere, but is “close to everything, next to everyone”, as A.W. Tozer writes.  

The Bible speaks constantly of God’s presence, both in the garden of Eden and then in visits to Abraham, Isaac, Hagar, Jacob and Joseph.  He was present in the burning bush when He first appeared to Moses and then in a cloud that took residence in a Tent.  He moved from a tent to a temple.  He appeared in human form through Jesus Christ and then returned to be present in the actual body of followers of Jesus through the Spirit...and that presence will culminate in His final return.  But, we also see His presence in the Song of Songs when we are told that love is a blazing fire, the very flame of YHWH Himself (8:6)!  

Sometimes we compartmentalize life and miss out on the presence of God: intimacy is one of those compartments, but not according to Scripture.  Let us be reminded of His presence in all things through these words by Hildebert of Lavardin: 

“God is over all things, under all things; outside all…wholly above, presiding; wholly beneath, sustaining; wholly within, filling.”