How Firm A Foundation

Recently a multi-level parking garage connected to Turtle Creek’s pricey Renaissance Towers collapsed. Suddenly. Dramatically. So far investigators are baffled as to the cause but acknowledge the existence of a structural problem. As I watched the footage of the crumbled remains of a building that had looked perfectly fine on the outside but obviously had some major defect within, I saw a parallel with my spiritual journey.
You see, I grew up in a solid church-going family. My parents made sure that we kids attended church “twice on Sunday and once in the middle of the week” as the old song goes. And on a personal note, I followed the rules. I didn’t smoke, or drink, or do drugs; I never cheated in school; and I certainly never gave my parents cause for concern. I was a well-behaved young adult. And after I got married, that is how I raised my children. I didn’t worry much about my salvation because I was a very, good person! I looked great on the outside!
I knew God loved me, would protect me, and expected me to follow His rules. Actually I knew a lot about God, but I really didn’t know His son. Don’t get me wrong, our church talked about Jesus , especially at Christmas and Easter, but my vision of Christ was a cross between the gentle shepherd holding the baby lamb and the pitiful, tortured soul hanging on the cross as shown in the pictures hanging on the walls in my Sunday school classes. My Jesus was sweet, gentle, and vulnerable… a victim. I knew something was wrong on a foundational level with my faith because I had family members who had begun to talk about having a personal relationship with Jesus. I had no clue what that meant or how I could get it. Then two things happened. First I began attending a good Bible teaching church in Dallas, and second my brother Kent gave me a valuable piece of advice. He said, “Karen, if you want to know Jesus personally, pray that He will reveal Himself to you. That is a request He will definitely answer because it is completely in line with His will. “ So I did.
A few weeks later, I was sitting in a Sunday morning class in my new church listening to a teacher describe the crucifixion. At one point he said, “And the amazing thing is at any point Jesus could have summoned a legion of angels to halt the proceedings and annihilate everyone who had mocked or tortured Him. Instead He suffered the pain which was not only physical but also emotional and spiritual as He took on pure evil to absolve the sins of the world. What?? You mean He wasn’t a pitiful victim? You mean He chose to forego exercising the extraordinary power available to Him out of love for a wretched, undeserving world?
Suddenly the word “sacrifice” meant something completely new. I got it! And the missing piece of the puzzle slipped in as a beautiful new relationship began. The more I got to know Jesus, the more I realized how desperately I needed Him…needed salvation. As I studied His life and ministry, I began to compare my behavior and thought life to His. That’s when I realized I could never be good enough to earn enough points to get into Heaven. I was overcome with relief and gratitude that I might be included as His child even though I had so easily dismissed His sacrifice for all those years before.
That is why at age 52 I asked my brother Kent to baptize me in front of my husband, our church friends, my two adult children, and my baby granddaughters. I chose to be baptized even though my parents had baptized me as a baby because I needed to acknowledge that something dramatic had happened to me. This was a decision that I had to make for myself. For me it was not just a matter of obedience, it was a celebration of my new life in Christ, of being saved from sin to live a new life in Him. Being baptized didn’t save me. I was saved the moment I grasped the truth and claimed it; but that event gave me an opportunity to share the joy I had found with the people I loved most with the hope that someday others would discover what I had found. I thank God for His extraordinary patience with me and for giving me a foundation in Christ so rock solid that absolutely nothing can destroy it!
“How firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word
What more can He say than to you He has said
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?”

A Gift of Amazing Grace

My granddaughters are now old enough to read my favorite book, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I know they will delight as I did in the antics and misadventures of young Scout as she learns some painful but life-changing lessons as a child in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. I am sure they will understand the novel’s powerful statements on prejudice in all its ugly forms; but I pray they don’t miss the author’s more subtle illustrations of unconditional love and grace.
My favorite example of the power of grace in the novel unfolds in an unlikely source: the strained and hostile relationship between Jem and Mrs. Dubose. Crotchety old Mrs. Dubose never has a kind word to say to anyone, but she seems particularly abrasive with the Finch children. Jem takes the verbal abuse as long as he can and then in a very passive aggressive move attempts to hurt the old woman by cutting off the blossoms of her prized camellias, her one source of pleasure. Naturally such mischievous act demands restitution, so Jem’s sentence was a monthly long daily assignment reading to Mrs. Dubose. The little boy hated every minute of the two hour stint. He hated her cruel jabs at his family, hated her dark and creepy bedroom, and hated the stench of sickness that permeated the house. When the four weeks ended, Jem joyfully “bounded down the sidewalk on a spree of sheer relief, leaping and howling.” Then one night some weeks later, Atticus returned from a visit next door with startling news: Mrs. Dubose was dead!
As reality set in, Atticus explained that Mrs. Dubose had been ill for some time and as a result had become addicted to morphine. She had used Jem as a distraction to help her wean herself from the drug. This news both surprises and disturbs Jem but nothing like the gift he is about to receive. Mrs. Dubose had wrapped a perfect blossom from her prized camellias just like the ones he had ravaged in her garden months before. Jem’s initial reaction to the gift was rage, calling her a “hell devil” and flinging the box on the floor. Quickly Atticus gathers Jem in his arms as the little boy sobs uncontrollably. Then his father gently explains, “I think that was her way of telling you- everything’s all right now.”
That scene reminds me of Gary Soto’s autobiographical essay “The Pie” in which he shares his experience of stealing a pie at age six. He concludes the story by reflecting,” I learned what sin was. Sin is something you take that you can’t give back.” Through her gift Mrs. Dubose in a sense tells Jem that he really hadn’t taken anything from her because she is freely giving it to him. By doing so she offers him the mercy he really didn’t deserve. What a beautiful illustration of grace!
“Grace” has been defined as “God’s unmerited favor, a kindness from God that is undeserved.” It has taken a life-time for me to really embrace that idea. I spent most of my life trying to be “good enough” to stay in God’s favor but never really knowing for sure that I was safe. And if I had been good enough in the past, could I count on sustaining that right standing until I died. Just how good is good enough?
I knew about Jesus and his death on the cross; but I didn’t grasp the concept of His sacrifice being sufficient to cover my sins past, present, and future. I envisioned Jesus as the pitiful, tortured individual suffering on the cross as depicted in pictures I had seen in church as a child.

The one Sunday 17 years ago, I listened to a teacher describing the crucifixion exclaim, “And the wonder of it all is that at any moment, Jesus could have called on a legion of angels to put a stop to His suffering and totally obliterate all those who tormented and mocked him!”
What?? You mean Jesus was not a pitiful, mild man who was powerless to stop the tide which had turned against Him? Then that must mean that He chose to suffer, chose to be humiliated, and chose to forgive all out of an unbelievable love for a very unworthy world! Now THAT is amazing and that is a savior!
Suddenly everything I had ever been taught fell into place like pieces in a giant jig saw puzzle. My heart cried out for forgiveness as I claimed the gift that had been waiting for me all my life but which I did absolutely NOTHING to earn.

That same Sunday our church service ended with these lyrics:

“There’s nothing you can do to make Him love you more;

There’s nothing you have done to make Him close the door.

Because of His great love He gave His only son;

All of this was done so you would come.”

Now THAT is amazing!