“And amazing grace is a pesky, pesky thing
But the good news is He’ll never leave you be
Jesus loves you, black sheep”Ben Fuller, “Black Sheep”
There’s something about this song, a fairly new release from Ben Fuller, that has been stuck in my head recently. Especially the line “amazing grace is a pesky, pesky thing.”
I never really thought of amazing grace as “pesky. “
Maybe that’s because I’m on the saved side of grace, where I’m thankful for the gift that Jesus’s blood bought for us. I’m not on the run from Him but on the run to Him.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.” Grace is the power that saves us, not our own work or striving. Nothing we can do on our own can save us, only the power from God by the death and resurrection of Jesus, who paid the debt for sin by sacrificing Himself for us.
Grace is a gift. Not something we can earn by anything whatsoever we do.
It’s also good news for those who feel they’re too far gone, for our black sheep.
That means it doesn’t matter what you’ve done. Nothing actually PREVENTS you from accessing the gift of grace from God. Only your own stubbornness prevents that.
God doesn’t desire that any of His children should be lost forever:
- 2 Peter 3:9 NIV: “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
- 1 Timothy 2:3-4 NIV: “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
Jesus illustrates this with the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15:1-7. He is the Shepherd who will leave 99 sheep that are not lost just to seek out the one that is lost. That’s why grace is pesky.
It’s seeking. It’s pursuing. It’s relentless.
Our Good Shepherd (John 10) calls each of His sheep by name, desiring that they all enter the safety of His fold. He doesn’t give up when one is lost; He continues to pursue it. He stands at the door and knocks (Revelation 3:20). He continually issues the invitation to come back to the fold and live under His care.
And for those who do not want such a thing, amazing grace is indeed pesky. It’s bothersome, how it doesn’t leave them alone.
But what other deity pursues His creation? What other God laid down His very life to pay a ransom for brokenness and sin and continues to ask that creation for a relationship–especially when that creation wants nothing to do with Him?
The invitation hasn’t expired. It doesn’t. The Shepherd is still pursuing you with His pesky, amazing grace that can turn your life around. You can still turn to run toward Him instead of away.
Jesus loves you, black sheep.
Blessings,
~Lynne
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