"Paint is a covering that changes the appearance of something. Dye also changes the appearance, but from the inside out."This little phrase has helped me focus my life in Christ. Jesus was never meant to be paint. His influence is like dye. He is changing how we speak and behave by transforming the way we think and feel about life.
The Grace of Jesus: Paint or Dye?
The grace of God demonstrated at the cross was not paint. As Jesus went to the cross, he was tested to his core. His sacrifice started at his core and emanated through every pore. He sweat and bled grace. It was in him and it poured through him. The cross was not theatrics. His grace in the face of brutal beatings and the cruel crucifixion was an external expression of his internal character. Jesus did not put on a show of grace to gain popularity or position for himself. In fact, it looked like a total personal loss on Golgotha that day. But Jesus was born to be the Savior, and he lived and died his identity.
Your Grace: Paint or Dye?
When I was a child, it was very common for nearly everyone to "say grace" before they ate a meal, even if they were not "regular church-going folks." Grace was a traditional way of showing humility and gratitude for everything, especially the consistent food we had to eat. But as I got older, it wasn't cool to bow and pray in public places, especially if I knew any of my friends were watching. For many, the whole thing of saying grace or not saying grace became about appearances. That is certainly painted-on grace. You can put it on and you can remove it.
When we first moved to Atlanta, it took quite a while to get a handle on how to drive in such intense traffic. I noticed pretty quickly that people had some complicated ways of determining when to show grace in traffic. Sometimes it had to do with what kind of car someone was driving, or if it was a woman or man, or any other host of external identifiers. In the end, for the most part, I gave, and received, painted-on grace. In fact, Susan nailed me to the wall one afternoon on Holcomb Bridge road. She was put out with me because I was upset at traffic, and she said, "It is a shame these people don't know how nice you can be." Wow! That really stung, but she was so right. I was simply being impatient and judgmental. And she called me out. I am so thankful that I am married to someone who helps me keep my core centered in the grace of Jesus Christ.
When grace is like dye, we still won’t dispense it perfectly. But we will have a reputation for being grace-filled people. We will also have the reputation among others that we are easy to approach and not easily angered. Grace is not short-tempered. Grace like dye is shown in consistent love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. Grace that is like dye is felt across the traditional barriers of gender, race, color, age, economics, education, zip-code, politics, and religion. Grace like dye doesn’t peal or chip off when it is under pressure or when the heat is on.
Grace like dye is the kind of grace the Macedonian Christians demonstrated according to 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. Simple. Profound. Dependable.
- Don McLaughlin
