Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā "Naked I came from my mother's womb, naked I shall returnā (Job 1:21).
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā We spring into life in a natural way. We move with natureās rhythms and we follow the whims of our inclinations like grass, āIn a field / Behaving as the wind behavesā (T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men).
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā But there is more to life. We know inherently (from the Latin word meaning āadhere to,ā with the root āhaerereā meaningāto stickā) that there is something within us, something essential that is more than grass.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā We move from grass to grace, from the primordial (meaning āfirst orderā) ooze from which we spring up, towards the immortal reality. Sinner to saint, we move. From natureās will to Godās will, we move.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Scripture reminds us of our mortality, our utter helplessness without God:
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āYou brush men away like waking dreams,
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āThey are like grass
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āSprouting and flowering in the morning,
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āWithered and dry before duskā (Psalm 90:5-6)
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āMan last no longer than grass,
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āNo longer than a wild flower he lives,
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āOne gust of wind, and he is gone,
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āNever to be seen there again;ā (Psalm 103:15-16)
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā We can choose to be āhollow menā or āstuffed menā as in Eliotās poem.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āOur dried voices, when
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āWe whisper together
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āAre quiet and meaningless
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āAs wind in dry grass
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āā¦In a field
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āBehaving as the wind behavesā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā This was our world, our fate, until God intervened with the prophets and the birth of Jesus. Then the world changed forever.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā In her book From Grass to Grace, Esther Obasi-ike reveals different dimensions and levels of grace. She narrates life stories of men and women graced by God. This revelation informs the reader of the reality of grace and how best to embrace the incomparable grace of God.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āGod's grace is an indescribable and unspeakable spiritual gift such that everyone should have a first hand encounter of this amazing love. The stories of creation, revelation and redemption are conceived, born and sustained by grace. Through the ages we see grace in action as individuals, families, communities, nations and the world at large resound their walk with grace.ā (Internet source)
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Our growth is our task. With heavenās help we move from that spiritual infancy at birth, where we were literally bare or empty, to the finished product, the saint, the immortal being.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Our tools come from God: āBlessed be God the Father... who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christā (Ephesians 1:3). Paul lists other gifts such as our freedom from sin, and the riches of His grace.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And when is this task, this growth complete? When we have laid down our lives in service to the final degree. In the life of Jesus we see the completion of the human movement to grace, to the divine. When He had done all that was to be done, including giving up His life on a cross, Jesus said, āIt is finished.ā (John 19:30)
