In my first post this week, I mentioned that I received a used grill, but it was dirty and some parts were broken. It needed rehab, and rehab takes work. I wish I could snap my fingers and the grill would be magically repaired. But instead, I had to do the work. And that brings us to the end of 1st Thessalonians. Paul concludes the letter in verse 28, writing, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”
God is not only a God of peace (which I talked about in the first post this week), not only interactive (second post this week), not only faithful (third post this week), God is gracious. We need his grace, all the time. He is a God who is lavish with his grace in our lives.
If wonder why change seems so difficult, that you aren’t making progress, you might think God is upset with you. Remember God is a God of grace. There will never be a time when God is not gracious to you. There is nothing you can do to void yourself from God being gracious to you. He is gracious in the reality that he is always willing and ready and actively pouring grace into our lives.
As I set to work rehabbing the grill, I found numerous parallels to God’s grace and his work changing us.
First, fixing the grill’s sawn-off side tray ended up being easy. I was able to fit it back into place with the remaining grill frame screws. Sometimes personal sanctification is not as difficult as we make it out to be. When I went on sabbatical in 2018, I didn’t want to spend my sabbatical scrolling on social media. I thought it would be very difficult, however, to break the habit. I had spent so much time in the previous ten years on social media. When I hit the “deactivate account” button on the eve of sabbatical day one, though, it was the simplest matter, and I did go back until fall 2024 when I wanted to publicize my book. If only all matters of sanctification were that easy…
Next, the grill’s cover handle was more difficult. When it snapped off, the small spot welds broke. Those spot welds secured the handle’s end caps in place. You need those end caps to screw the handle to the cover. And I needed help. Sometimes when you are going through personal change, you can’t go it alone. I asked a friend from church if he could weld the end caps to the handle. Sure enough he could and he did. In my own journey of becoming more like Jesus, twice I’ve needed to go to therapy, and since 2020, I’ve had a near monthly one-hour session with a spiritual director. Not to mention the vast input from my wife and other friends and family, for decades.
Third, rust had severely damage the grill’s cooking grates, so they will need to be replaced. I don’t know if there is a parallel here to God’s work of sanctification in our lives. But I do know that he can redeem even what seems totally broken and irreparable in our hearts, minds, and relationships. His grace is easily powerful enough.
Finally, the grill needed cleaning, as all grills do from time to time. Black carbon deposits covered numerous stainless steel surfaces. So I got Easy Off oven cleaner. Easy Off is powerful stuff. You really should wear gloves when you use it, and preferably use it in well-ventilated spot, or outside. Spray it on the affected area, then wait. At least 30 minutes. Maybe more. Then scrub, and watch the carbon come off. For more persistent or thicker coatings, spray, wait, and repeat until the grill is clean.
What I’m getting at is that the work of change can require sweat. Patience. More work. Change is not always easy. Often change only comes after a very difficult experience. Or after a long periods of basic fundamental practice. Yes, I believe God can change us rapidly, but he often doesn’t. In fact, his work is often so slow, it is imperceptible. Which we usually do not like. Especially in our fast food culture.
Frequently change is the result of practice, work, repeat. Like Easy Off on my grill: spray, wait, scrub, repeat.
Easy Off works on the grill, but what is the work of spiritual formation? What is the practice? I’ll talk about that in the next post.
Engaging Scripture 