manna?

Why It’s Called “The Throne of Grace”

Posted by Daveg

Last month, as I often do, I had the privilege of preaching.  Greg and I both take that responsibility very seriously.  The message had to do with marriage.  What I taught was a reflection of a change in my understanding of what God’s word teaches regarding remarriage.  For many of you, the message hit very close to home.  You have been divorced.  Most of you have remarried.  I can only imagine how hard it must have been to listen to someone who is happily married talk about never being remarried—or that if you have remarried you may actually have sinned against God. I think I unpacked what I believe the teaching of Scripture is on this point—that once you are divorced, you should not remarry, except to the person you were divorced from.  If that is not possible, then you should remain single.  If that is what you heard, then I did a credible job.  But some of you came away with the understanding that if you did, in fact, remarry, then you are hovering over the pit of hell, dangling like a spider, ready at any moment to fall helplessly into the abyss.  If that is what you heard, then I obviously did a very poor job of unpacking the scriptures.  I tried to make it clear that: 1) No one has any right to feel in any way “superior” if their marriage has remained intact, and 2) There is no sin for which we cannot be forgiven.  In fact, the template that God places over our fallen humanity is one of redemption.  It is not simply that God is able to do amazing things with good people, but that He chooses to do amazing things with fallen, sinful people.  He takes the very things that Satan intends for evil, the very things that threaten to undo us, our own willful attempts to find satisfaction in something other than Him, and He uses those things to bring Himself glory and to do us good.  The only qualification for grace is that it must be offered freely to people who have no reason to expect it and no right to receive it.  While I have no idea what the particulars of your situation might be, I am quite certain that your failures pale by comparison to my own desperate wickedness.  I know that reading that does very little to assuage your own regret or feeling that you have been singled out and had a large, scarlet “D” placed on your forehead.  That is why I am offering this invitation.  I’d like to talk, face to face, one beggar telling another where to find bread.  I promise, there will be no biting, hair pulling, name calling, or generally bad behavior.  I am told that I am actually pretty easy to talk to. So, if you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee (You KNEW there was a catch!), then please, give me a call or shoot me…an email, and let’s take this opportunity to walk the path to Christlikeness together.  I look forward to hearing from you.  Pastor Dave