A lot of people struggle with the concept of grace. Especially the grace of God.
They can't handle the fact that God would just freely give and freely forgive.
They can't handle the fact that they don't have to give anything in return. Which is partially understandable I think. We thank people for their good acts with good acts of our own. This is the truth of our day.
I'm not going to argue for or against this misunderstanding, which I do believe it is, above all else. But I was hit with an interesting metaphor yesterday as I heard a song that I had heard many times.
Grace Like Rain, that song we sing all the time, has a catchy melody and an interesting little twist on the song Amazing Grace. However, I never put together the real emphasis of the comparison of grace to rain.
I love rain; it kind of makes my life. Unfortunately living in Saskatchewan where we clearly prefer dry, I haven't had much experience in the concept. The experience I have had, however, has been incredible. I love to just stand out in the rain and get absolutely soaked. So that my clothes feel about a thousand pounds and I look like something that could be compared to a drowned rat.
Todd Agnew, or whoever wrote that song, may or may not have had that experience too, but he nonetheless makes the comparison. Grace like rain falls down on me . . . can you imagine standing out in a grace storm? (as in rain storm, just in case you didn't get it).
This is the reality of the Grace of God . . . this is what we refuse to understand. If you're standing in the middle of a field during a rain storm, there's probably not going to be a lot of shelter for you to shield yourself against the grace . . . I mean rain. All you can do is love it and allow yourself to get covered in it.
