Falling from Grace - honour concepts right in front of our noses that we often fail to see

Photo: screenshot

A short while back, the phrase 'Fallen from Grace' was in the headlines again.

Not long ago, it was Prince Andrew's 'fall from grace' that filled the news headlines. 

This time it was the recently ousted British Prime Minister Liz Truss…although the reasons for the two are hardly similar, the result elicited the same phrases by the media.

So what was going on here, and what can we learn?

We instinctively know that to 'fall from grace' is to lose your honour…to be in a state of shame…to not perform to the standard of basic social expectations. 

For Prince Andrew it was related to links with criminals of the sexual-abuse kind. What exactly he personally did has not been determined by the courts, but his associations and actions taken to settle the case out of court was enough, to not only gain the disdain of the public but also have his mother as Queen strip him of most of his royal status. So one could say he failed to live up to what was expected as morally acceptable as a normal citizen and human being let alone as a royal Prince.

For Liz Truss it was quite different - she was chosen as Prime Minister by her political party and did nothing illegal or immoral by any general moral code, except that she failed to act in a way that met the expectations of her parliament to steer the country in a manner considered to be stable and responsible in the opinion of the party. 

Now I don't want to get into any arguments on whether her policies were good, bad or otherwise. What I want to observe is this context of 'falling from grace'.

Both Prince Andrew and Liz Truss failed to meet expected standard in one form or another. Yet, their 'sins' were very, very different, and one could argue that why should Liz Truss be described in the same way as Prince Andrew?

But I think there are two significant things to learn from this.

1. It doesn't matter in which way you 'fall' short, the reality is that 'fallen short' you are.

2. If to 'fall from grace' means to no longer be in a position of honour or to lose honour, then we need to realise that the word 'grace' is rooted in honour, almost to the point of being a synonym of 'honour'.

Yet…'grace' is a word that we talk a lot about, especially as Christians, like it was some special concept all on its own. We don't stop to think whenever we read it in our bibles that this is a reality that is entwined, enmeshed, enveloped, infused and inextricably merged with honour.  It is often defined as 'God's unmerited favour'…but what is favour?  To favour someone is to particularly bestow some kind of honour on them. 

We seem to also recognise that to use the word 'grace' in the word 'disgraced' is to recognise a sense of losing honour…yet we still fail to just come out and say that 'grace' means honour.

Surely then we must stop and consider God's grace to us as God's honour put on us.  Paul in Romans calls it a gift (Romans 5)…and yes it is a gift…and yes it is unmerited and there are no good works that we can do to gain or achieve such honour being given to us. God's grace is God's unmerited gift of his favour toward us…his favour of giving us the full honour of being in his Son, joint heirs with our Lord Jesus Christ so that our sin's (falling short) shame is covered, our 'disgrace' has been  removed and we have been 're-graced' in Christ.

It is none of us and all of Him, we in Christ, and Christ in us. 

We are now accepted before God in the glory of His Son and one day will receive the full promise of resurrection glory for our bodies too. We live in, and with, the sure hope of that full glory yet to come. 

But meanwhile instead of our sin counting against us, we are counted in the glory/honour status of Christ, and indwelt by Him in the glory of him having the fulness of the God-head dwelling in him bodily.

So….. let that little phrase 'fallen from grace', as it occurs from time to time in our world, remind you of the grace you have truly fallen from in the Garden of Eden's greatest 'Fall' of all, and then ponder afresh the wonderful grace you have been given in God's unmerited favour gifted to us in the glory of Christ.

Selfie deaths are ringing Society's alarm bells! - why honour and shame are hiding at the core of this problem

According to the Beareau of Statistics:

• 34 deaths from falls from buildings and structures just last year alone in Australia 
• 20 deaths from accidentally falling off cliffs
• 5 deaths from skiing or skating 'accidents'

According to the news report this is the highest number of deadly cliff falls in ten years and double the number of 5 years ago

and its believed 'dangers stunts are attracting attention on social media seen to fuel the fire'

The news report went on to say:

'it can be death or glory in the hunt for social media status'

'young selfie-obsessed Australians are putting their life on the line'

Content on media platforms such as TikTok, SnapChat and Youtube (of the Selfie's of other's risk-taking for the 'best' selfie)... is believed to be driving others to 'outdo' what they see just to get 'notoriety'.

Psychologists are concerned, 

Emergency Service personnel are concerned,

 the media are highlighting it, 

and families are suffering the loss of young lives in their prime.  

But is the answer to put more pressure on these platforms 'to make sure the content is safe for our children'? as the psychologist suggested???

Maybe the problem is not just that these images are viewed, but that after viewing them others want to not just copy, but 'outdo' what they see.

The viewing is not the problem…the response to the viewing is the problem.

So then we have to ask, why does someone respond the way they do?

Why do they want to take the risk in the first place?

The news report contained some key words that should alert us! ……'glory'….'notoriety'….'status'

This is an honour hunger problem!

At least it's being thought about slightly more deeply and being recognised as not just a physical problem of physical deaths (that's not to say the loss of physical life isn't something to be concerned about).

This is actually not just that people are dying from physical injuries of falling off buildings and cliffs or in skiing accidents. These deaths are caused by a deeper issue. It is a heart problem …but not the physical kind. 

Seeking for Status is at the Heart of the Selfie Quest.  It is the heart seeking for honour, for glory, for notoriety, for fame, for significance and sense of worth. But instead of seeking it and finding true significance and honour as created by the Creator and redeemed by the Redeemer, they are seeking it by accomplishment, popularity, by being 'better' than others…trying to 'outdo' others in the competition for 'likes'. 

 If we don't recognise our ascribed honour and worth in God's eyes—as the work of God's hands in creation and work of the cross in redemption, we will get busy trying to do our own 'work' of trying to achieve honour and worth in our own eyes and the eyes of other people around us.

This is a 'falling short' of God's glory and seeking after mis-placed glory that is simply not only chasing the wind, but ultimately bringing death filled with eternal shame (Daniel 12:2). 

Sin's lie is stealing life…literally!

Scripture tells us that if we seek to keep, save and love our life we will lose it, but it's only when we are willing to lose it, that we will truly find it (Luke 17:33, John 12:25). Trying to get glory status our way will eventually only end in the opposite.

This world needs the gospel…the good news that true honour and glory can only be found in God through life in Christ…glory that brings life abundant and eternal - better than any temporary adrenaline risk-taking rush, notoriety, and its deadly ends.

By using this news headline as a conversation starting point, who could you bring this gospel good news to today?

Resting in God and His Word

Cats,…. the purry, furry companions of so many….including myself, have a habit of demonstrating their friendship by coming to sit on a piece of paper that is the page of the book or newspaper that we happen to be reading right at that very moment!

My cat is no exception.

However, today she didn't quite sit right on top of the page I was reading (as I was at the time reading on my laptop), but she did choose to sit right on top of my bible, laying open beside me at the page I was regularly referring to.

But as she covered up the very section of Scripture I was periodically looking back at, and then relaxed back even further and began to have a 'bath', I had an object lesson from God right there! (and yes, I took some quick pics!).

As she rested right on top, and then cleaned, and then went to sleep, it was a good metaphorical reminder that we too should be quick to go to the pages of Scripture and rest in the truth of all that God shows us in those pages that he truly is.  

It should be the rock, the resting place, the source and security of all our lives, whether sitting, working (cleaning) or sleeping!

As we look at the mess of our world this is a good reminder…especially considering my time in God's Word is currently in Paul's letters to Timothy. Paul tells Timothy toward the end of his second letter that in the last days sin will abound (chapter 3). We shouldn't be then surprised when we look at the world…

But I am reminded that we should also take note of Paul's other directives to Timothy after this…that he is to remember God's inspired Word and keep on preaching and teaching it (Chapter 4). Though some might not like it or welcome it, as we keep eternity and Jesus' return in mind, the response to the sinful mess of the world is not to be shocked about it, or just ignore it, or try to escape to some quiet corner of this earth where we think it might be less, or spend all our energies fighting it, but to continue to evangelise, to preach the Word, live the Word, teach the Word, and not neglect the gifts that God has given us for his Kingdom work, so that souls might be saved.

It was a short lesson with significant reminders, but those are sometimes the best!