\u201cWhen the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, \u2018Moses, Moses!\u2019 And he said, \u2018Here I am,\u2019\u201d (Exodus 3:4)
Most collisions in life are far from beautiful. In fact, vehicle collisions or a jarring hit in a sport can result in destruction and pain. God\u2019s grace is like a collision, except it\u2019s beautiful.\xa0 God\u2019s grace is the most dangerous, expectation-wrecking, smile-creating, counterintuitive reality there is.\xa0 Grace is beautiful because it both stops you and commissions you.\xa0
In the Old Testament, God disrupted many people\u2019s lives with His grace and called them to do something very dangerous and risky for the Kingdom of God.\xa0 We saw in Exodus 3 how Moses\u2019 life was disrupted by a burning bush, but beyond that in the Old Testament we can see Jonah\u2019s life interrupted by a large fish and David\u2019s life challenged by a giant.\xa0 The Lord intended to show these men that by His grace, much could be accomplished.\xa0 Slaves could be liberated, Nineveh saved, and Philistines defeated.
God\u2019s redemptive story is marked by disruptive grace.\xa0 In the New Testament, God and Saul collided which led to his conversion, a new name \u2013 Paul \u2013 and a history-shaping commission to preach the Gospel to those who were not yet God\u2019s people. God send His Son to personally disrupt the world of that day, and that disruption keeps on going. After many years of repressive Roman rule, the story of Israel is disrupted for the grand inbreaking of grace: Zechariah the priest is rendered speechless, a virgin named Mary becomes pregnant and her fianc\xe9 Joseph is visited by an angel \u2013 all personal disruptions for the greater good (Luke 1:5-20; Matthew 1:18-25).\xa0 Jesus comes into the world and the disruptions of grace abound: a blind man sees, people are healed, evil spirits are driven away, to name just a few. Each of these were beautiful collisions of God\u2019s disruptive grace.
When we experience God\u2019s grace, it is life changing. It should have a jarring effect, like a collision. But we also need to understand it is intended to commission us to be a \u201clight on the hill\u201d for Him. Grace meets us and grace unleashes us.\xa0 Grace \u2013 the truth that we don\u2019t earn, but instead become the recipients of God\u2019s good and delivering disruption \u2013 sets us free to follow Jesus as Lord. It forms us as vessels through whom He can work out His will in history.\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0
What \u201cgrace collisions\u201d have come your way recently?\xa0 Why do you think they have come?