Anyone who has encountered this blog either knows, or will soon know, that I have layers. Like Shrek tells Donkey in their debut movie (“Shrek”), he’s like an onion: he has layers. Donkey does what he can to think of something that everyone likes that also has layers and comes up with parfaits. I prefer parfaits on most days, but I think I’m going to have to identify with the onion. Just by mentioning the movie, “Shrek” gives you one of the layers.
Too often I’m known to quote TV shows and movies (appropriate or not), my music taste hovers over the praise and worship genre but occasionally floats to classic 70’s rock (think AC/DC and Queen), I love my family even though they’re crazy, I love rhyming children’s books, and I love sharing the goodness of God’s grace. I don’t make it my goal to offend, but if you’re offended I would like to know what triggered it. That being said, I would be remiss if I didn’t add that I hate confrontations, but I think they are absolutely necessary. I thirst for knowledge but I also believe there are things we’ll never comprehend this side of Heaven. Maybe I identify with onions because of the many layers, but also because of the flavor contradictions.
Onions can be downright spicy but can also be considered sweet. Maybe I have too high opinion of myself, but I think this describes me fairly well. I can be downright vindictive and purposefully hurtful, but I can also be the most loving and caring best friend you’ve ever had. The first layer you encounter will show pretty quickly that I am super uncomfortable in social situations with people I don’t know or don’t know well… But I may be deserving of an Academy Award if you didn’t notice that layer. While I strive to be genuine, I have trust issues – and then there are times I struggle with sharing too much too quickly (depends on who I’m sharing with). Before you say that the onion analogy is out; that I’m just a walking contradiction, give me a chance to peel back another layer.
I’m a woman. That definitively sums up this post. Just kidding – please don’t hate me. Grace believers, like women, get a bad rap because of misinformation or because of a few bad apples (Apples? I thought we were talking onions!) The covering of sin is a big deal and holds a great deal of confusion for many. As a grace enthusiast, I want to make my position on sin clear: while all things are lawful, I do not believe all things are beneficial (see I Corinthians 10:23-24). An example: drugs and alcohol do not send you to hell, but there is no benefit in destroying your body with drugs and alcohol. While some might say grace believers contradict scripture, I see a different contradiction.
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1 (NIV)
In Deuteronomy 5:15, Moses is presenting the ten commandments to the people of Israel and reminds them that God rescued them from slavery in Egypt, so now they needed to keep the Sabbath day holy. I remember growing up in the church and asking Jesus into my heart – it was a joyous occasion! I went from being a slave to sin to being a slave to religion. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not knocking church and the benefits that come from church. I am, however, knocking the teaching that salvation comes from believing in Jesus and dressing the part, attendance, and putting on the appearance of perfection. Trying to show the world that you have it all together is exhausting and benefits no one. Why go from one form of exhausting bondage to another? Both lead to death – yes, I said it.
Let’s back up a moment. What was going on before Moses presented the ten commandments to the people of Israel? God freed them from slavery in Egypt, yes, but let’s look even closer. Have you ever known someone to bail their kiddo out of a jam at school? They not only bail them out, but the kiddo comes out on the other side with a better grade and gets a gold star on everything they hadn’t taken the time to think of doing before. All the parent wants is to spend time with their kiddo, talk with them to help them make better choices in the future, and give them a good life of plenty. But the kiddo says, “No, I don’t need to talk with you or spend time with you… just tell me now how you want me to act and I’ll do it myself.”
As a parent – a slightly OCD woman (see, layers?) – I have a specific way of doing things. If the sink isn’t cleaned before doing the dishes, the dishes won’t get cleaned. If I sweep the floor before wiping the table, the floor will be dirty again. I’m definitely not God, but I have a specific way of doing things. Can they be done differently and turn out the same way? Yes. But that’s with me; not with God. His way is perfect (Psalm 18:30). Some of my favorite passages detailing God is found in Job, chapters 38-40. Read those chapters and tell me that we can do it better. While those chapters do not outline the perfection of the law, it paints a pretty good picture of the magnitude of expectations God listed out at Israel’s request.
In Exodus 20:18-21, the people of Israel were so terrified of God, they didn’t even want to hear His voice! They did not consider His nature of love and mercy; they did not consider that He had healed them, rescued them, provided wealth, and given them food and water… with the promise of a land of their own that would have Egypt pale in comparison. They didn’t consider the good grade or the additional gold stars and a good life of plenty. They didn’t want to do it God’s way, but rather their own way.
“If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still a need for another priest to come – one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law…The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.” Hebrews 7:11-12, 18-19 (NIV)
The law, in all of it’s perfection, did nothing to bring about perfection in us. Instead, it magnified our need for a Savior – a change of the law. No, God does not change. He has always desired relationship with His creation and He made the ultimate sacrifice to make it possible. But we are the ones who change. We were in slavery in Egypt: rescued by God. We chose the yoke of slavery that came with the law: rescued by God. For many, we choose religious doctrines and traditions: God already unlocked those shackles.
Onions, regardless of the number of layers in each, all have the texture, taste, and smell of an onion. That is what I call inseparable. You may peel back one layer, but you still have the same juices. It’s something that doesn’t seem to be divisible. As a grace enthusiast, saved by grace through faith, who holds on to a better hope, my Savior is found in each layer. As I seek and find refuge in Him, as I rely on His strength, as I seek His face, my help and rest is readily available. I daily reaffirm that I am the righteousness of Christ – that I am a daughter of the Most High King – that I am worthy because He justified me.
As you learn about God’s grace, peeling back the layers of His love, you’ll come to find that while this technically gives you “license to sin,” that’s a very immature understanding of what God has sacrificed so much for. When you get a taste of God’s rich goodness – the spicy and the sweet – your motivation to not sin will be greater than your desire to go out and sin. Will you mess up? You’re human, aren’t you? Are you condemned? Only if you don’t accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
“But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:21-24 (NIV)