6 Words That Will Change Your LifeSample

Many years ago, Dare 2 Share gathered seven young strangers of diverse religious worldviews together for the spiritual reality series GOSPEL Journey Maui.  Our group discussions focused around some of the great questions of life: Is there a higher power? What is the purpose of life? Why do bad things happen? What happens after we die?  

Over the course of the filming, I found it fascinating that two of the cast members, Jasser and Jonathan, were united on one thing: the outrageousness of the message of grace. Jasser was a devout Muslim, while Jonathan was Jewish by heritage and agnostic by choice. Yet despite the cultural chasm between this Muslim and Jew, they found a common rallying cry when it came to Jesus’ scandalous message of grace. When they realized that the Bible teaches salvation by faith and not by works, their response was surprisingly similar. Outrageous. Unfathomable. "You mean to tell me... all it takes is faith in Jesus? It doesn’t matter what you’ve done or how bad you’ve been?" 

Jesus’ scandalous message of grace never ceases to outrage. The religious leaders in Jesus’ day were outraged too. They questioned and challenged His radical teachings about the grace and mercy of God. You can imagine them saying something like, “You mean to tell me…all a sinner has to do is put their trust in You?”  

And Jesus’ habit of hanging out with the “non-religious” crowd—tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners—was scandalous beyond measure, too. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were all about their manmade traditions and "extra" laws, through which they had turned the Old Testament law into an onerous, burdensome list. And in the process, they had become petty, self-righteous rule enforcers who set themselves up as judge and jury over the Jewish people.  

That’s why the chief priests and elders so despised Jesus’ teachings. His way of grace not only threatened  their power over the people, but struck at the very core of how they viewed God and themselves. What an affront to their pious sensibilities when Jesus told them point blank in Matthew 21 that “the tax collectors  and the prostitutes  are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.”  Jesus was shifting the whole spiritual dynamic by declaring that God embraces those who seek Him with a humble heart, knowing they need God’s grace, and trusting only in Jesus.  

Do you have someone in your life who you’ve given up on? If we’ve been hurt by someone over and over, our human tendency may be to write them off as beyond the reach of grace. 

But no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace. Do you really believe that? Talk to God about how it makes you feel. Angry? Hopeful? Or something else entirely? Think about where you were when God’s grace found you.