As sure as sparks fly skyward, we’ve got problems.  When we attempt goodness and godliness, there’s a counterbalance.  I’m sure I’ve never had a pure motive. That goes for you, too. I’ve come to believe that all other explanations are self-serving.  There was a time when I thought I was mostly over my inabilities, but I’ve come to realize it’s not true. In these latter years of my life, I have come to understand what it means to be fallen from grace.

When Adam and Eve sinned in Eden, everything fell.  If we misunderstand anything regarding this today, it is the depth of that fall.  They became totally depraved. Even the good to which they aspired afterward was impotent and debauched.  And the same is true of all their progeny. We became sinners by nature, and, God help us, sinners by choice.  From this position, we cannot rise. Paul’s anguished cry was, “I cannot escape my body of death!”

Sin can be missing the mark or crossing a known boundary.  We’ve done both. Our foibles are not merely mistakes- they go much deeper.  The thoughts we dismiss as beyond our control come from somewhere. The absence of real purity, innocence, has drained us of insight.  We do not appreciate the good or abhor the bad. We are “less than”- pale imitations of what we should be.         

No amount of initiative or inspiration can lift us from the deplorable state.  When we think we are becoming strong, we may be at our weakest. Self-deception is ever our foe.  Vance Havner said the evil genius of Satan is that he makes us think our weaknesses are actually strengths.  We cannot rise. All efforts fail. The devil will say there is no use to try because there is, ultimately, no hope.  Our experience must prove him right.

What has been true of many lives would be true of all lives were it not for grace.  If we misunderstand the depth of sin, we also misunderstand the depth of God’s grace.  Only grace can rectify the sinful condition. It is the only antidote for depravity. And it is the only thing that can spur and empower us toward any virtue.  Any acceptance we receive from God for any charitable work we have attempted is, also, by grace.

Philosophical ruminations must be laid aside.  The excuses we make for humanity, as well as, the improvements for which we strive must be seen as self-justifications in the clear light of grace.  Workaholics must understand that worldly applause is not divine acceptance. No one can boast before the Deity. Grace taught my heart to fear when I understood there was nothing I could do to satisfy the glory of God.  I am fallen. “There is no one righteous, not even one.”

The precious grace appears when we believe.  That is, it becomes apparent to us. Grace is unseen until it becomes real in our lives. An obstacle for some is whether or not God’s grace actually applies to them.  Can it really help when all else fails? It can, and it does because grace is active, not passive. It is the absolute and only answer. It will help if we let it. I hope you will.  

I did.

Sterl