That's not an original phrase and its meaning is simply this: humans are a seriously messed up species, and in the eyes of God, all sin is a grave offense; none of us are in a position to withhold grace from anyone else. The usual caveats, courtesy of the apostle Paul as recorded in Romans chapter 6, apply here: grace is no excuse to continue in sin; responsibility, accountability, appropriate expectations of ourselves and others, all of that remains intact.
My hunch, however, is that the human condition is such that the more pernicious sin is the one in which we knowingly or unknowingly withhold grace from another than that we abuse grace to excuse our own sin. Just a hunch.
I have had ample opportunity over the years to reflect on offenses committed against myself by others, and committed by myself against others. What brought all of this to mind today was the wonderful "Big Daddy Date" that Nathan and I wrapped up today.
In our family, we try to date our kids once a month; the smaller outings might be to McDonald's for ice cream or a meal out somewhere else; the 'big dates' happen maybe once a year and are overnight trips somewhere special.
Jess and I went kayaking in Alabama last year, Bennett and I went to D.C., SG and I had a hotel overnight in Charlotte along with a Taylor Swift concert (though those happened on two separate occasions due to Swift's illness, unfortunately), and Nathan and I just returned this afternoon from two nights in Myrtle Beach. When I consider the ebb and flow of my relationships with my four children, whether warm and fuzzy with the younger ones, or cooler and often more distant with the teenagers, I am quick to blame myself for the latter and pat myself on the back for the former. My hunch (I have lots of hunches!) is that I deserve less credit for those times when things go well, and likely don't deserve as much blame as I might might think for when relationships are not going as I might wish.
The fact of the matter is that one of the manifestations of the human condition which I think most of us have observed is that 'good homes' sometimes produce 'bad kids' just as 'bad homes' surprise us when they produce 'good kids.' The weekend in Myrtle Beach with Nathan was a relational high point for me; I of course want to do all the right things to help ensure that my relationship with my son is, and remains solidly wonderful while being sobered by the fact that there are no guarantees.
And so my optimism for the future of any relationship is tempered by a keen sense of awareness of some of my own failings, but surely not of all of my failings, nor do I expect that I am aware of the depth to which they impact others and myself, but aware on some level just the same, that as a bona fide member of a messed up species, I am responsible for my share of offences against God and others. My relationships cannot help but be impacted.
Further, I know that there is a limit to how much benefit there is to exerting pure effort to making amends, making course corrections and so on. Again...balance is in order here. This is not intended to be a fatalistic justification for an "anything goes" way of living. Rather, it is my desire to extend grace to myself and to others just as it has been liberally extended toward me.
I recognize that God's sovereignty is not threatened by anything that I do or do not do. So while I want to do what is right I will not always be successful, whether that be due to negligence, laziness, rebellion, ignorance, or any other possible reason. God is still sovereign, and He will still accomplish his good purposes in this, His universe. How comforting.
To put it in another way, just as I recognize that I came from a dysfunctional family, I also recognize that the family I am fathering is already dysfunctional, and always will be, so long as it remains comprised of human members.
So I can relax today; I love my wife and I love my children, and I would love to think that most everything I do will be congruent with an ethic of love. It won't be, however. I am a morally fallen human being; I won't do things I ought to do, I'll do things I ought not to do. ...and yet, God is secure on his throne. Anything and everything in life has the potential to be used by Him for redemptive purposes.
How comforting!
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