Jesus Towards Us

One of the descriptions of grace I remember hearing was from The Rev. Dr. James Carpenter of General Seminary.  When he said "God towards us" he surely said more but I got myself stuck on that and stopped following his train of thought that day.

I knew Jim because he had retired to Augusta, GA when I was serving as Associate Rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd.  He was a gift to my time there. The light of his whimsy and imagination sparkled.  The heat of his ethical gaze was constant.  The demand for excellence in witness to and with a diverse creation was non-stop. 

I count it as one of the many graces from God that I received during my service in the CSRA, years ago.  Working with Rector Robert Fain and staff.  Living in our neighborhood of young med students and pharma reps on Bransford "off the brick" with Cindy, David and MC.  Clericus, Standing Committee, and summers at Honey Creek were some of the other graces given then. 

I've remembered Dr. Carpenter's definition from then because it is now how I understand who Jesus is for me.  He is a grace of God's, not just to me but to all time and space and thus to me, too.  It's what gets St. Paul to write in his letter to the Colossians:

. . . of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing--so among yourselves, from the day you heard and understood the grace of God in truth,  as you learned it . . .  (Col. 1:5b-7a, RSV)

Certainly there was grace on our creation whatever the extent to which sin has broken, removed or altered its original effect.  But it's not so much how much of our "original blessing" remains. What matters to me now is that that same grace of creation continues from God.  Otherwise there'd be little or no "bearing fruit and growing" "in the whole world" of which the church in Colossae is just a part. 

In short, God is always "towards us." There is always grace from God.  And that ultimate grace that was the Gospel's focus, Jesus who died and was raised is also "always."  Jesus is always "God towards us."

So . . . what, who, how is Jesus to you, now?  How do you recognize and receive God's always being towards us?  Are you willing to explore or question the ways in which "God towards us" is localized, embodied, incarnated in Jesus, not just 2000 years ago but now?  How does your appreciation of Jesus help you receive God's always being towards us?

Lots of questions, one Jesus, one God, always towards us.