Grace may be the hardest concept, thought, idea, teaching, or doctrine found in the pages of the Scriptures. It’s found from beginning to end. Those much smarter than I have written volumes on the definition, examples, and life applications wrapped around “grace.”
Here’s a quote from Anne Lamott found in Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts of Faith. “I do not at all understand the mystery of grace–only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us. I can be received gladly or grudgingly, in big gulps or in tiny tastes, like a deer at the salt.”
Two things…it meets us where we are but doesn’t leave us where it found us. That may not define grace, but it does help me understand it. It was certainly true of Rahab the harlot. Her story is found in the Old Testament book of Joshua. He sent two men as spies to infiltrate the city of Jericho before Israel fought against the city. She helps the spies and asked them to remember her and her family when Israel takes the city. She tells the spies that she heard and believed the stories of how God watched over the nation of Israel, defeating any and every nation that stood against God and his people. She then said in Joshua 2:11 “When we heard this, we lost heart, and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.”
This woman with a not so virtuous career path put her faith in the nation of Israel and the God who guides and protects them. Not only was she spared from certain death, she eventually is mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:5. God met her where she was, but didn’t leave her the same.
Jesus Christ through His grace will do that. He did it with Rahab. He did it for me. He can do it for you. Check out www.bobandjanet.org. There are some resources available to help you on your journey.