Grace For This Rebel

“Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, [for] the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell [among them].” (Ps 68:18 AV)

I am so blessed by the rebellious also receiving gifts from God!  Jesus went to the Cross for a rebel like me.  What follows that phrase is an even greater blessing.  Jesus went to the Cross and rose again that God might dwell among the rebellious!  WOW!  What a truth.  What a hope.  What a transformative promise.  As a parent, rebellious children are the last to receive any kind of favor.  The animosity is so thick between the parent and child, blessings are near to impossible.  For anyone to show compassion to another who is directly challenging his or her authority takes more grace than is humanly possible.  For the rebel to be humbled by the grace of God is something we cannot understand.  Yet it happens all the time.  Rebels are humbled.  Rebels accept Christ as their Savior.  I did!  More than forty years ago, this rebel was humbled, repented, sought the mercy of God, and called upon Jesus to save him.  And save him He did!

It took a few years, but the LORD impressed upon me to read His word from cover to cover.  When I did, the Spirit illuminated to my heart just how deeply rebellious I had been.  One cannot help, when comparing Self against the law of the Old Testament, just how wicked he or she is.  When the saint reads of the standards of holiness, righteousness, and godliness outlined in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, the conviction of heart is overwhelming.  Throw in Proverbs, and that same saint cannot even look himself or herself in the mirror.  We realize just how filthy we are.  Then the Spirit leads us to consider the nature of our choices.  Some are impulsive.  Most are not.  Most of our wicked choices are deliberate.  We know what the word of God says.  We are ministered to by the leading and conviction of the Holy Spirit.  Yet, we deliberately choose to disobey.  We do not consider the pure pleasure of the Father.  What would please Him the most?  What would He expect?  How would He feel if we walked in disobedience?  These questions are never asked of the rebel’s heart.  When we stop and think of just how far we are from Christlikeness, we shudder to think what might have been had in not been for the gifts which Jesus bought as He rose from the dead.

Those who love the LORD often look for motivation toward holiness.  The bible tells us that the goodness of God leads us to repentance.  It is difficult to continue in sin when God is being so gracious to us.  When we stop to consider that Jesus, because we are rebels, died and rose again that He might dwell with us, should be the greatest motivation toward godliness.  When someone we once despised gave His life for us, it is hard to rebel against Him.  Perhaps we need a reminder.  Perhaps we need to remember just what Jesus did for us and how little we deserve it.  Perhaps we shouldn’t take for granted the amazing grace Jesus had for us when we least deserved it.  If the above truth does not stir deep gratitude in the heart of the saint, we have a hardened heart.  If the above truth doesn’t renew within us a spirit of striving even more after godliness, then nothing will.  Praise God for His limitless grace and mercy, even in the darkest hour and despite who and what we are.