Andy's Blog: A Personal Word

August 5, 2005

Aug. 4, 2008

Columnist George Will points out in a recent column that many American workers fail to sign for company pension plans, which are tax free and often matched by employers. It is free money. All that people have to do is opt in. But many fail to do so. Why?

It is the power of inertia in human behavior. Even otherwise smart, analytical people often make foolish choices by default. People are busy, their lives are complicated, and they don’t have the time nor inclination to think through even important choices – from health care plans to retirement options. They choose the default option by not making a choice – the option that goes into effect if the chooser chooses not to make a choice. Often the default option is not the one that is in the best interest of an individual.

What is the default option when it comes to faith? For Methodist Christians, the default option is grace. God loves all of us, all the time. It is God’s nature to love. Grace is freely given. We do not earn it, merit it, or deserve it. God chooses to love us through no fault of our own!

But if God’s grace is faith’s default option, we also believe that we must choose grace.  We believe in free will. We have to accept what God so freely offers. God gives us the choice to accept or reject the love God offers. A faith that heals, saves and restores is not a default option; it must be chosen by us. And that choice must continue if we are to grow in grace, allowing God to form in us the image of Christ. The end is to love as Christ loves.

In our Methodist tradition, growing in grace is the ongoing part of what God is doing to save us. This doesn’t happen by default. Because of the power of inertia in human behavior, we have to GROW ON PURPOSE. To grow, we have to intentionally open ourselves to grace through those practices that tune our hearts and minds to God. The work is God’s, but the choice to allow God to do that work in us is ours.

We call those ways by which we open ourselves to grace “means of grace.” The “means of grace” are those practices which put us in the place where God can work within us and through us. They include things like prayer, sacraments, scripture and works of mercy. These things are not a matter of duty, but they are a way of life. They provide a way in which we actively choose Christ who has already chosen us. The Christian life cannot be had by default. It is an option we must choose. We have to GROW ON PURPOSE.

GROWING ON PURPOSE is our church-wide emphasis for this Fall. There are dozens of opportunities for each of us to make a choice to strengthen our faith – Sunday School, small groups, mission opportunities and more. These options are available on the church website (http://www.trinitybirmingham.com).  On August 17, GROW Sunday, you will also have the opportunity to explore options. Beginning this Sunday, I will begin a sermon series on our Methodist understandings of those practices by which we Grow on Purpose.

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