w3grace

Many of us will have heard of the great English cricketer W G Grace...this post is a twist on his name which came to me as I was reading some well known verses recently.

The verse in question is Matthew 11:29 (MSG) - the often quoted part being...

learn the unforced rhythms of grace

I hadn't considered before the injunction to learn & as soon as I did it became clear that there was more to this verse than I had previously grasped. The earlier part of the verse makes it clear that our learning will come out of 3 W's

• Walk with me: I'm challenged as to whether God is an ever present - is his presence the most important thing in my life? On another level, you can't go faster than the person your're following - as a recent tweet put it

God doesn't operate any faster in the twenty-first century than He did in the first. And so while we rush ourselves, we can't rush God

• Work with me: if we aren't working with Him, we are working against Him (even I believe if 'not working' at all). What has God asked of me where I am still to be obedient, do I need to seek fresh guidance from Him

• Watch how I do it: I find the life of Jesus truly inspirational & therefore it's not often a hardship for me to revisit Hebrews 12:2-3 (MSG)

Study how He (Jesus) did it...when you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item

Given my current 'take' on Jesus, I find the 3rd of these requirements the easiest to 'undertake'. For me there is no better way than a consistent reading of the gospels & frequent requests of those close in life as to whether they see me becoming more like Him.

I'm doing better on the 2nd than I used to but as a reforming control freak, this one's not always easy for me - more attentiveness to His voice, even in my everyday existence is a key part of 'conforming'.

The hardest W for me is the 1st. I like going fast, I like achieving, I like being fruitful & so as I've expressed recently (its june say something), the promised land is wildly attractive to me. But, I stay alert, discipline myself & my knowing of God & love for Him are growing such that He is becoming increasing all-consuming.

How about you guys out there in 'blogland'

Q: do you even want to learn the unforced rhythms of grace? if so

Q: which of the W's do you need to be most attentive to?

Q: what would be a good next step for you? 

The verse before the one I have considered (v.28) asks

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion?

The verse after (v.30) promises that if we keep company with Him, we'll learn to live freely & lightly. May we each know His yoke as we learn His ways.

Jonathan