Every person, no matter how smart, good looking or put together you think they are, struggle with two human emotions: Fear and Greed. Babies are born and they cry. Why? The world is bright, harsh and cold. The human instinct kicks in and fear takes over. The child grows, learns a thing or two about how to get what they want, and before you know it they’re asking for a car. Greed.
The journey towards the cross reminds us of a third way, it’s the way that only Jesus gives.
“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved” Ephesians 2:6-8
The resurrection of Jesus promises our future resurrection, pointing to something better than fear or greed. It’s grace. And by it you’re saved. But, what do I do with my fear? I mean, I got bills. Real ones. Banks and credit card companies don’t seem to care about an incomparable richness that bounces. Or, I have to get more just simply to keep up. We live in a selfish, dog eat dog world. Get as much as you can as fast as you can. Grace seems trivial and instead of being a strength, it’s seen as weakness.
That’s exactly the way the world sees it.
The skeptic will state that a Christian is just weak and needs God as a crutch. You’re weak. Outspoken atheists like Richard Dawkins scoff at the need for grace and believe it’s just smoke and mirrors. For Dawkins, God is “arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully” (The God Delusion).
Sounds more like fear.
Instead there is grace and that is the way of Jesus. You may have bills and health issues, but you also have God who gives you strength to persevere. Grace is a gift, that takes your fears and puts them in perspective. It makes you want to be generous for all that God has done for you.
What if for one day you monitored your thoughts in just those two areas, fear and greed. It will be humbling, probably embarrassing. And you take note of what it is that brings you fear. How many times did you write the same fear? Then ask God to help you deal with it. Own it, or the fear will own you. Or, if you see something you absolutely must have, add that to your greed list. Then ask God to show you all that you’ve been blessed with already. Grace, you didn’t earn it or deserve it, but in kindness, Jesus wants you to walk in it.
“Grace, It’s a name for a girl
It’s also a thought that changed the world…”
Grace by U2
Ron Aulbach 
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