Unexplainable

“You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name” John 15:16

In John 5, this man was lame for thirty-five years. Jesus skipped a lot of people, got to the man and asked him, “Will you be made whole?” And instead of answering the question, the man went on to relate the story of the thirty-eight years of his life. And Jesus said, you know what, get up, take up your bed and walk; and Jesus left the man walking, dancing, and happy. But the Pharisees saw this same man and questioned him- who healed you? Today is Sabbath; you shouldn’t be carrying your bed. You know some people have issues. You see a man that had been crippled for thirty-eight years now carrying his bed and walking and all you can say is why are you carrying your bed? Something is wrong with you. A lot of us in church have become hard-hearted. And the man said, “it is the person that healed me that said to me, take up your bed and walk”. Did he not know it was Sabbath? Grace sometimes doesn’t follow rules. A lot of us have been taught that for someone to be healed, you need to make the person confess his/her sins. I am here to tell you that this does not apply all the time. Jesus can heal even if they don’t repent. Yes! Grace is not always fair. Grace is unmerited favor as it has been defined. It is not just favor because favor can be merited. The truth is that people can trade favors but you cannot trade grace. Grace is favor that is unexplainable, favor that is undeserved. Many of us are struggling to explain the grace of God upon our lives. You can’t; don’t waste your time! You’re favored and that is it!

When you read through Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, one thing that will strike you about Jesus is, it is as if He is not even interested in fairness. It is as if fairness is not even His objective. He had over five hundred disciples but He chose twelve, is that fair? Out of twelve, He picked three to be in the inner circle, is that fair? What have the others done? Out of the three, one man could put his head on Jesus’ chest, is that fair? It is not fair. Jesus walked through Jerusalem but he did not heal everybody. Is that fair? Even the story in John 5, the Bible says that there were multitude of lame, mute, and crippled people in that place and Jesus found one person and said, “would you be made whole?” Jesus healed him and left the others. Excuse me, is that fair? If you live your life wanting God to be fair to you, you will miss it. You live your life encountering the grace and the truth of God, and then you will get it.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me live my life daily encountering Your grace and truth, in Jesus Name.