Thank God for Grace

I am a member of a church that has been said to preach grace too much. In other words, people hear that God gives grace to His people, so it does not matter what a man does. First of all, that is not the intention of the message. The imperfection of man does not excuse from the pursuit of perfection. Secondly, it's good to hear the same topic preached from another pulpit. The church that I attend here in Texas focused on grace this morning.
I was intrigued by several points that were made. Those who live in guilt do not understand grace. I don't really know how to explain why this clicked with me this morning, but it did. Grace sets us free from the sin that entraps man, and guilt is what holds us in that entrapment. Also, it was made clear to me that our sin does not change God's character. Just because we, as humans, do something wrong does not change grace. It is still feely given to us, and nothing will ever change about that fact. It is this grace that secures our salvation, that ushers us into the kingdom. Nothing by our own works, but by the grace of God. This should lift a huge burden of the shoulders of many.
Then the pastor brought up a story that sounded one very much like one that I know. His six -year-old girl was taken from him many years ago by a drunk driver. In light of the grace that he had been given from above, the pastor extended this grace to the driver. They began a relationship, and it led to the salvation of the driver. I thought of the Mullicans while he was telling the story. Mr. Mullican has met time and time again with the guy who killed his daughter for a meal. Grace extended through man to other men by God. Amazing. He used this in contrast with breaking the speed limit by a few mph to illustrate that breaking a rule is not as bad as breaking a heart. The greatest commandment addresses our relationship with our Heavenly Father, and the second with relationships between people. I take it that we should put some weight in relationships.

ADDITION ON NOV 3:
Here are the lyrics to a U2 song off All That You Can't Leave Behind.

Grace

Grace, she takes the blame
She covers the shame
Removes the stain
It could be her name

Grace, it's the name for a girl
It's also a thought that changed the world
And when she walks on the street
You can hear the strings
Grace finds goodness in everything

Grace, she's got the walk
Not on a ramp or on chalk
She's got the time to talk
She travels outside of karma
She travels outside of karma
When she goes to work
You can hear her strings
Grace finds beauty in everything

Grace, she carries a world on her hips
No champagne flute for her lips
No twirls or skips between her fingertips
She carries a pearl in perfect condition

What once was hurt
What once was friction
What left a mark
No longer stings
Because Grace makes beauty
Out of ugly things

Grace makes beauty out of ugly things

Purpose and the House

Two things came to mind while I sat listening and absorbing the teachings at the college service tonight. They came to me in ways that I have never thought of before, and now feel led to share them. Feel free to forward this to anyone you wish, as I would do the same if I could.
First of all, the message was the second part of a series entitled "What am I Here For?" I have heard similar sermons, but a point that was made was that it is good to work at a secular job. You don't have to be called to a "ministry" to be called by God. He has called us, and internally wired us, to a certain profession. We are told to be the salt and light to the world, and that includes the "secular" world in which the church does not go. However, I would debate that there really is a "Christian" world and a "secular" world. Back to my point, this reinforces my feelings of introducing Christ to a business that is craving and screaming for love and attention. I was at first told that my strong beliefs, business would not be a major most fit for my strengths. However, I knew this going in, and my strong beliefs are the reason I wanted to get into business. I also saw that being "Christian" is not a Sunday-Wednesday thing; it is a life thing. I have known and been taught this, but now came the application.
Secondly, Psalms 122:1 was brought to my attention: "I rejoiced with those who said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord.'" I have always been excited when a friend would call and invite me over to his house. It is a way of showing love and care for another person, and it is a very personal gesture. Here, the psalmist points out that God has called each of us to His house, and He has personally invited us in. What could possibly be a better invitation? Let us accept and rejoice with the ones with which we will enter.

Unity in Christ

In my reading of "The Pursuit of God" by A.W. Tozer, I found an illustration that hit me like a ton of bricks. It has to deal with unity, which has always, in my mind, been a desire of the church. From youth to elders, unity is a desire of the heart. Here is the excerpt from the text of which I am speaking:
Someone may fear that we are magnifying private religion out of all proportion, that the "us" of the New Testament is being displaced by a selfish "I". Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which one must individually bow. so one hundred worshipers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become "unity" conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. Social religion is perfected when private religion is purified. The body becomes stronger as its members become healthier. The whole church of God gains when the members that compose it begin to seek a better and higher life.

I know that the church, including Christ Community in particular, in recent years has grown more and more "disunified". I see that it is a result not of something corporately, but of an individual lack of turning one's eyes heavenly. The high school youth group saw this unity happen 18 months ago when the majority of the group was disciplined in each one' s private religion: quiet times and reflections. Then some outside circumstances shook up the comfort, and we turned to our own strength. This lead to the demise of the unity that could be found there. I have also seen that in the whole of Christ Community, as an individual would look to see that the person sitting beside him in service doesn't think the exact same way as himself. Instead, his eyes, and mine as well, should be looking up to God, desiring to tune my heart to His.
This may all be well known to you, but I felt this passage of Tozer's stir in my heart. So now I feel lead to share it with you. I pray that it will bring encouragement to you and those around you, that unity may be found, not in ourselves, but in Him alone.