"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ" Galatians 1:6
Erma Bombeck used to tell a story that illustrates our "grace starved" culture. One Sunday while attending church, she saw a young child struggling to keep the proper etiquette. He was squirming, humming, turning around in the pew, and smiling at other parishioners. Finally, his mother jerked him by the arm and said in a course whisper that was loud enough to be heard by most of the congregation, "Stop that grinning." Then she gave the child a firm spank on his fanny as tears rolled down his cheeks. Bombeck said she would not advocate misbehavior, but she wanted to hug that tear stained child and tell him about a God who is happy and smiling. "My God has a sense of humor big enough to have created someone like me." She wanted to say to the mother, "You fool. You are sitting next to hope, light, and joy without even noticing. If you can't smile at church, where else can you go?" If you can't find grace in the church, where else will you find it.
Unfortunately, many Christians have lost their joy in the "amazing grace" of Jesus. That is the message Paul was correcting in the church at Galatia. Their false gospel was that they were saved by keeping a bunch of rules and always frowning. The good news is that we are saved from first to last by God's grace. So, stop frowning and looking like you have sucked on lemons. Smile and enjoy the amazing grace of God and be sure to pass it along to others.
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