The Sunshine of God's Gracious Love

Most Christians say they believe in the grace of God and in the love of God. Indeed it is impossible to be saved apart from faith in the grace of God. Our pilgrimage through this present evil age is beset with countless obstacles. It takes a considerable amount of spiritual discernment to become one whose walk is rooted and grounded in love, powered and sustained by grace. One of the great obstacles to every believer is his or her own legal conscience. Theoretically we believe in the Psalmist's directive, "Be still and know I Am God." A legal conscience has difficulty being still. Our legal conscience urges us ceaselessly, we must arise and be doing.

This message emphasizes the passive side of faith; being still in the sunshine of God's grace somewhat like tuberculosis patients of old who sat passively in the sunshine until the rays of the sun gradually effect the cure. (See Olle Hallesby's unusual book: PRAYER p. 16.) My proposition is that if we are appropriately passive--like Elijah was (I KINGS 19:1-8), like the man borne of four was (LUKE 5; MARK 2), like the snake-bitten Israelites were (Numbers 21:4-8; John 3:15,16)--we will soon be actively manifesting the grace of God in a revived walk of lively activity: "You did run well (Galatians 5:7)" before you caved in on the doctrine of pure grace! Have we forgotten how John Wesley's heart was "strangely warmed" as he passively sat at Alder gate? And what of those results?