"All human nature vigorously resists grace because grace changes us and the change is painful..." -Flannery O'Conner

Flannery O'Conner was an American author who specialized primarily in short stories. I came across this quote from her a while back and felt it worth saving. Grace the the central theme of the Christian gospel, and embarrassingly misunderstood and underemphasized. While the modern cliche definition of grace- getting what we don't deserve- is true enough, I prefer an expression from the Deep South that I read in Brennan Manning's classic devotional work "the Ragamuffin Gospel": 'I was seized by the power of great affection.' And that power can be, as O'Conner points out, painful.

Grace is painful, initially, because it requires we admit we've been wrong: wrong enough to need the forgiveness that comes only through the grace of God. Also, we've been wrong in our efforts to justify ourselves. We say defensively "I shouldn't think this way, but..." "Let me tell you why I did what I did..." Grace shouts, "Stop trying so hard to explain yourself, admit you were wrong, and allow yourself to be seized by the power of great affection."

Grace brings additional painful change in obvious ways. "God has been so merciful to me that I need to..." Fill in the blank: speak up for truth, forgive my enemy, give abundantly, use self control... These things often go against our nature, so they can be emotionally and sometimes socially painful to do. But the change grace brings is painful in less obvious ways as well.

Grace means thinking completely differently about ourselves. We are no longer the center of the universe. Grace means, in fact, that we're not even the central player in our own lives. As John the Baptist said of his cousin, Who also happened to be the Messiah, "He must increase, and I must decrease." Grace opens our eyes to the fact that there is Someone so much bigger and more important than ourselves, and a truth more important than our own worldview.

Furthermore, grace creates a level playing field that forces us to show others the empathy and compassion we expect of others. If I have, as Paul said, fallen short of the glory of God, yet He has seized me with his great affection, then I must extend that grace, too. Letting go of grudges can be one of the most painful parts of grace.

So grace is, as Flannery O'Conner says, something we fearfully resist. Grace requires we surrender control in all areas, and it can be scary.

But it is truly amazing.