If Grace Is So Amazing, Why Don't We Like It [Paperback]

Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound . . . or is it? Grace set to music is one thing, but what about grace itself? What about grace as an idea, an act, a force? Grace upsets the natural balance, turning the law of cause and effect on its head. Our instinctive reaction is to pull back from grace. Rather than recognizing our unworthiness to receive this completely undeserved gift from God, we want to believe that, on balance, something in our lives merits the good that comes our way, that we deserve whatever gifts we receive. And if we find it difficult to accept grace for ourselves, how much more unwilling are we to have it handed to others? When someone gets off the hook too easily, aren't we uncomfortable? A miscarriage of justice, we think. That's not fair! But real Christian faith requires that we accept and embrace this radical thing called grace. It’s not about being fair: God’s grace will turn your world upside down¾ if you let it.

Acknowledgments ix

PART 1: Upside Down 1

1 How Sweet the Sound? 3

2 Hanging on a Hair 12

PART 2: Upside-Down God 21

3 Surprising, Not Predictable 23

4 For Us, Not Against Us 29

5 Near, Not Distant 39

6 Revealed in Weakness, Not in Strength 49

7 Rule Breaker, Not Rule Maker 59

8 Passionate, Not Unmoved 68

9 Therefore Risk Trust 76

PART 3: Upside-Down Self 89

10 Set Free, Not Condemned 91

11 Life, Not Death 101

12 Death, Not Life 110

13 Truth, Not Evasion 117

14 Delight, Not Manipulation 124

15 Giving, Not Getting 133

16 Therefore Be Human 141

lc9