Hi there; thanks for stopping by.
searching for grace attempts to detail the thoughts I have on my life and my faith, and how I can combine the two more effectively. The aim is that one day, they’ll be the same, and that this blog will catalyse the process somewhat.
The title of this blog, I feel, is a good description of its aim. At its core Christianity proclaims a unique message of grace – the ridiculously upside-down, completely undeserved, utterly selfless love of a God who for some reason cares about me. This is, I believe, impossible to ever fully comprehend, but the more I learn about Christianity, the closer I get towards this grace. At the same time, as I search for grace on this seemingly religious level, the more I begin to understand it; the more I understand it, the more I understand how vital it is to everything, and the more I understand how to live my own life to reflect this. Hence, my search for grace is effectively the same search to unite my life and my faith.
One might say, of course, that we need not look for grace any more – that the grace of God has been revealed to us in Jesus Christ, through his life, his death and his resurrection. This is true. It’s probably even more accurate to say that the grace of God has found us. I don’t dispute this. But this definition misses the reality of my own life, in which I continually forget that grace which has found me, sustained me, and blossomed in me. Grace is not simply a part of some set of true statements, or some implied fact or facet of doctrine. Grace changes everything. And, in light of that, my “search” can be more accurately described as the journey from the former and the latter. The move from doctrine towards delight. As Jonathan Edwards put it:
“… there is a difference between having an opinion, that God is holy and gracious, and having a sense of the loveliness and beauty of that holiness and grace. There is a difference between having a rational judgment that honey is sweet, and having a sense of its sweetness. A man may have the former, that knows not how honey tastes; but a man cannot have the latter unless he has an idea of the taste of honey in his mind. So there is a difference between believing that a person is beautiful, and having a sense of his beauty. The former may be obtained by hearsay, but the latter only by seeing the countenance. There is a wide difference between mere speculative rational judging any thing to be excellent, and having a sense of its sweetness and beauty. The former rests only in the head, speculation only is concerned in it; but the heart is concerned in the latter. When the heart is sensible of the beauty and amiableness of a thing, it necessarily feels pleasure in the apprehension. It is implied in a person’s being heartily sensible of the loveliness of a thing, that the idea of it is sweet and pleasant to his soul; which is a far different thing from having a rational opinion that it is excellent.”
If you feel like you could help me along or want to join me in this quest of sorts, or just generally have something to say, then feel free to comment away or get in touch. I’d love to hear from you.
Thanks again; God bless.
