The Glory of his Unfolding Grace

I got this email yesterday from a brother in Missouri and got quite laugh out of it. It reminds me how easy it is to see through the bondage of religious obligation when the smallest bit of light gets in. The only ones who can’t see it are those who either make their living selling some piece of religion, or enjoy controlling others even as they feel superior. That’s why common folks found Jesus so engaging and why the Pharisees found him so enfuriating

Now, I’m not sharing this so all you parents will give Transitions to your sons and daughters, nor for you sons and daughters to give it to your parents to try to ‘win them over.’ Obviously this young lady was just in the right place spiritually to see what Father wanted her to see. But I think this is awesome:

I must share with you something that you may find amusing. I had given my grown daughter your Transition messages several weeks ago. Now this young lady loves Jesus with all her heart and has been in Churchianity all her life, and currently attends the local so called mega church.

The first evening after she listned on the way to work, she came home and as we were discussing what she had listened to, she started to cry. The Lord had touched her heart with this truth, and she could see some of the religious yokes that she had been carrying.(She is seeing more all the time) Anyway, she is listenening to the Podcasts and really enjoying those as well.

Yesterday (Saturday) she had a Sunday School class meeting. When she came home, I just casually asked how everything went. She first shook her head, then glared at me and said “This is your fault!”. I started chuckeling and asked her what she was talking about. She said the meeting was full of all kinds of “you should do this, and you should do thats”. As I laughed harder she said, not only that, but the church had sent spies into their Sunday School class to check them out to see if they were being friendly enough! That is when I completly lost it and laughed almost until I was in tears. Of course she laughed too, but not as much.

I remember having a similar conversation with my daughter when she came home from college one semester. “You ruined me,” she said with a smile. She told Sara and me that everywhere she went to find fellowship, she could see through the guilt-inducing, manipulative tactics so many so-called leaders us to control God’s people and burden them down with obligations God has not asked of them. Yes, it does ‘ruin’ you a bit, but in a wonderful way.

I love how simple life in Jesus really is. We don’t miss it because it is too complicated for us to figure out. We miss it because we see it more complicated than it really is, and those who control our religious structures want it that way. That’s why God made it so simple. No one can own it, use it to control others, or even set themselves up as the expert in it. This is for everyone—from the least to the greatest. All get to know him first-hand and live in the glory of his unfolding grace!

I’m going to continue this theme over the next couple of days. On a recent trip, I heard the most amazing story of someone coming to know Jesus in the U.S. just a few days before having to return to their native North African country that is controlled by Muslims who persecute anyone known to be Christian. For those who wonder how God can work outside the big-box missionary organizations to make himself known in the most dire circumstances, you won’t want to miss this.

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