Amazing Grace

At our men's Bible study the other night, we studied the parable of the prodigal son. It's a story that we're all familiar with, a story of forgiveness and unconditional love. But as we discussed what it meant to each one of us around the table, it got me to thinking about grace.

Phillip Yancey wrote a book entitled What's So Amazing About Grace (if you've never read it I'd recommend it highly). In the book he tells a true story, one which I'll paraphrase here for the sake of brevity:

"Not long ago I sat in a restaurant and listened to a good friend tell me that, after 15 years of marriage and 3 children, he had met a younger woman. He was thinking about leaving his wife and family for this other woman, and as a Christian he knew full well the personal and moral consequences of what he was about to do. I listened to his story with sadness and grief, but then he dropped the bombshell, asking me the question 'Do you think God can forgive something as awful as what I'm about to do?'".

It just so happens this week that I'm reading through the book of Romans, which reveals a grace so unlimited that Paul says "where sin increased, grace increased all the more". I wonder if Paul struggled with questions like those in the story above? What's to keep a person from exploiting God's wonderful promise of forgiveness? More than once, Paul returns to this predicament: "What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?".

So what about it? Will God forgive the man who leaves his family, knowing ahead of time that it is wrong? This is how Phillip Yancey answered his friend:

"Can God forgive you? Of course He can. But because of Christ, forgiveness is now our problem, not God's. What we have to go through to commit sin distances us from God - we change in the very act of rebellion - and there is no guarantee we will come back to Him - no guarantee we will ever ask for forgiveness. You ask me about forgiveness now, but will you want it later, especially if it involves repentance?".

I've always thought there was a lot of wisdom in that answer. There's something in us that makes us think that we can just step off the path and then step back on whenever we want to. But playing with sin is a dangerous game and Phillip Yancey is right - sin changes us. Coming back to God always involves repentance, and as long as the flesh is involved that will never be an easy thing to do.

Although it seems that God took a great risk by announcing forgiveness in advance, the reality is that because of Christ the risk has been transferred to us. As we sat around the table reading the parable, I couldn't help visualizing the father in the story. He was always there, day after day, night after night, always watching and waiting, always ready to forgive. But the responsibility was on the son. He had to make the decision to repent and return.

Romans 6:1-4 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.