God, be kind in 2017

WE’RE AFRAID. More than half the population of the United States is deeply disturbed about what is coming in 2017.

Our nation is about to get a radically different kind of a president…one that the majority of the voters rejected, by about three million.

Some say they consider him unfit for any public office. I could polka dot this page with a bullet list, but those who read the news know the main bullet points by heart.

Some folks say everyone should calm down and give the guy a chance.

Others reply, “Have you seen who he’s picking to help him lead the nation? Have you been reading his never-ending, self-aggrandizing tweets? Have you reviewed the Mayo Clinic’s checklist on the characteristics of a sociopath?”

Many Americans are depressed because they say the election showed that we are not the people we thought we were. We are not kind; we are vicious and vengeful. We are not tolerant; we are religious bigots and racists. We are not about helping others. We are about helping ourselves.

Whatever you are or aren’t, “You have been saved by kindness” (Ephesians 2:5 Casual English Bible).

That’s Paul, writing to Christians in Ephesus, a city in what is now Turkey.

The more literal word for “kindness” is “grace.”

I didn’t use the word “grace” in the paraphrase for the Casual English Bible because “grace” can mean a lot of different things.

• It’s a prayer before a meal.
• It’s a sense of poise and dignity.
• It’s quiet courage in the face of hostility.

But when it comes to describing the grace of God to human beings, one of my favorite definitions is this:

“Grace is God accepting us where we are, yet being unwilling to leave us there.”

For those who don’t like the looks of where they’re about to find themselves in 2017, we are saved by God’s grace.

We may find ourselves in a bad place. But God won’t leave us there.

It wouldn’t be kind.

Casual English Bible

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Casual English Bible Leader’s Guide & Atlas for Acts

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