Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? (James 2:15, 16 NIV)
One of my least favorite "Christian" sayings is, "There but for the grace of God go I." It drives me crazy! First it implies that I am more deserving of God's grace than the person of whom I am speaking. And that just crushes the whole idea of grace because grace isn't grace if we somehow deserve it or earn it.
But I think more importantly is the self-centered thinking of those words. It puts the other person at arms length and makes them seperate from us. Even though the words SAY that it could very well be me, it makes us glad that it is NOT me, but someone else... not as "deserving" of God's grace.
We ought to leave out the whole "but" phrase out of that sentence and just say, "There go I." Wow. What a difference that makes. Don't you feel the shift in your heart? When we think of that poor, wretched person as our own actual selves instead of "it could have been me" it moves us from simple pity to action. From asking God to help to being God's hands to do the work.
Most of us are just one bad decision or one unexpected event away from being in great need. And we should let that knowledge make us grateful. But we need also to feel our oneness with every other child of God in this world. They are us and we are them. When one person is suffering we all suffer. Compassion is good, but it is not enough unless it moves us to action.
Father of All,
Help us to see ourselves in everyone. Help us to say, "There go I," and to become your hands to heal, serve, and love. Amen.
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