Forgiven
Charles Roy's memorial lies under our cabin's tree.
In his later years, you might have seen him sliding into the very last pew, wearing an oversized dress coat and the unmistakable look of shame; slipping out before the closing hymn.
To most church goers, he was just another lost soul in need of saving. To me, he was my father-in-law.
It was hard not to withhold grace from Charles Roy, a man who had inflicted so much pain on those I loved. Although I still managed to do my christian duty with a tight smile and a loose hug, caring too much always costed more than we could afford.
However, the riches of God’s grace are not to be frugally funneled through His children. They are meant to be lavished over all who call on His name. At the foot of the cross, Jesus’ blood flows liberally over all sin, seeping into every crack and crevice.
When we set ourselves up as judge and jury of who may receive mercy, we become hardened by self-righteousness - the sharpest bit of metal on the whip that laid across our Savior’s back.
We lose sight of our own human condition apart from His grace and begin to think our salvation well-earned rather than humbly received.
I believe that my father-in-law knew his soul’s true state more than most and only dared go to Jesus in desperation for the cleansing he longed for. And this, my friend, is the place where we all should reside - face down at the foot of the cross of Christ - with faith in His goodness, not our own.
True, it may not have been a textbook conversion that religious rule keepers nod their approval at, but is it their blessing that allows entrance into Heaven’s gate?
No, each and every person that comes to Jesus for salvation, enters in carried by the holy arms that also bore their sin.
Charles Roy White rests there now - forgiven.
“Saving is all His idea, and all His work. All we do is trust Him enough to let Him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish!…No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and the saving…”
Ephesians 2:8-9 (msg)