In the book and movie, True Grit, the 14-year-old young girl, Mattie Ross, who takes it upon herself to pursue justice regarding her dad’s murder, is a Presbyterian. It has been a number of years since another book and movie about a Presbyterian family came out, A River Runs Through It.
The dad in this book and movie, who is a Presbyterian pastor, has a saying, “All good things come by grace, and grace comes by art, and art does not come easy.”
“All good things come by grace.” All that we have, all that we are, even the brain with which we think thoughts about God, comes by God’s grace. God gives us good things, not because we deserve them, but because it’s God’s nature to constantly seek our wellbeing.
In The Lord’s Prayer, when Jesus teaches us that God’s nature is that of Our Father, he means that God values each and every human being and provides for our needs, as would the best of parents.
“And grace comes by art.” Just because God seeks our wellbeing doesn’t mean that we always do. Availing ourselves of God’s grace is not natural. There is an art to recognizing both what God gives and then accepting it.
“And art does not come easy.” We’re a mess, says the dad in A River Runs Through It. Not only is recognizing and accepting God’s grace an art, but it is one that we’ve pretty much lost. Too often we ignore or reject or do not notice how God helps meet our needs. Too often what we choose is self-destructive rather than the good that God makes possible.
A follower of Jesus knows that God’s grace is the source of all she has and is. Further, she is a person who, by God’s grace, is struggling to grow in her ability to recognize and receive all the good gifts God has in store for her. - DJ
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