---See the Grace series here
What exactly is ‘a fall from Grace’?
This expression triggers lots of questions:
What is Grace and its source? What triggers its ascent and descent?
Of Grace, does everybody… get a taste??
Is it about some Bible quotations?
Why only talk about it when it’s lost, and when folks lament?!
What perplexing questions in your heart and mind arise,
About this mysterious topic …or force?
As a noun and verb, the word, Grace, is defined,
‘Falling from grace’ infers a noun, like losing a prize,
Or failed trajectories that trigger remorse.
From Wisdom’s table, let’s ‘…have a seat and dine’.
Per The Holy Bible, Grace is a key characteristic,
Of The Lord God Almighty. 1
Of Grace, He is the original source.
Ergo, whatever we’ve learned about it, must be ‘theistic’.
Grace we show, must surely be,
Our faint reflections of His Grace, of course.
Grace, with Mercy, its spiritual cousin, He extends,
To whomever and for however long He determines.
We extend Grace for a wide range of other reasons,
Based on selfish, familial or societal trends.
Thus, human Grace is subject to …eccentric disruptions!
The Lord’s Grace and Mercy are …resilient companions.
Because His ways and Mind are so much higher than ours,
His Grace can’t always be ascertained in human terms.
Yet, when from it, we slowly begin to fall,
He ‘pulls back curtains’ to expose our ‘righteousness scars’!
By that act, itself, it’s His Mercy that He affirms,
And to repentance, for us to hear His call!
Responding to His call, full Grace is replenished,
With time to allow lifestyles to be ‘refurbished’.
…Imagine that!
That’s when attentive onlookers are astonished,
To see how, by The Lord, repentance is cherished!!
…How great is that?!
In this case, the purpose of Grace is accomplished,
And from His judgments, The Lord will have relinquished.
BUT…
When, on folks’ righteousness scars, The Lord pulls His curtains back,
And devils ramp-up their targeted deceptions attacks,
Folks won’t perceive they have been spiritually hijacked.
They double-down with prideful, dismissive counterattacks! 2
Rather than ‘penitent repentance’, The Lord gets …blowback!!
In time, the worst of these folks become mythomaniacs!!!
(Do you know any?)
Thus begins their gradual fall from Grace,
A lengthy process that’s not done in haste.
I perceive it is like a down-staircase,
Which is a manifestation …of Grace,
Until there’s no room for an about-face!
That’s when The Lord’s harsh judgments …are showcased!!!
Friends, my prayer is that, from history, we learn this lesson,
About how to avoid falling from The Lord’s merciful Grace.
He’s ever ready to pardon our ‘righteousness infractions’,
When on them, we perceive, to us, He’s pulling back the curtain.
When you’ve learned and applied it, and are no longer a ‘scapegrace’,
Share it with others so they’ll avoid …Grace degenerations.
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1 In Exodus 34:6, merciful and gracious are the first characteristics The Lord cites as He heralded Himself to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Grace and mercy are His un-earned, long-term FAVOR to His creation, of which humanity is the apex, because in His personal image, we are created.
2 The devilish spirit of pride puffs-up people to convince them they are guiltless, and to think more of themselves than is acceptable to The Lord. Therefore, He specifies only ONE thing about which we may be proud. So, rather than being proud, here are my tips:
(a) Purge from your vocabulary the phrase, ‘I am proud of…’, EXCEPT as it applies to The Lord’s ONE exception.
(b) Replace it with, ‘I am blessed and pleased that or for…’
See: God Hates Pride.
