Out in the Open

Hallelujah grace like rain falls down on me

Hallelujah all my stains are washed away

The Williams family (www.williamsinthewilderness.com) and I sang together as Kenneth led us in worship. 

He stopped in the middle of the song and said, "Imagine yourself standing in a field with the rain of Karamoja falling on your face. You're not hiding under the shade of the tree, you're out in the middle, out in the open. The hard rain of Karamoja beating down on you, like the grace of God, washing your stains away". 

He's right. The rains of Karamoja come hard and strong, beating down everything in it's path.

But what caught my attention the most was the idea of being out in the open, fully exposed to the grace of God.

In Celebration of Discipline, Foster states, concerning living in the spirit, "There is no longer the tiring need to hide our inner selves from others." 

Isn't that the truth? Sometimes it's just exhausting trying to hide the sinful thoughts and motives of our hearts. 

But this is truly the way I wish to live, not having anything within my inner life to hide away. 

Not under the tree, missing out on the weight of the rain. 

Not under the tree, hiding in my shame. 

But out in the open. 

Dancing in the forgiveness and grace of Christ. 

Yes, it leaves us vulnerable. Maybe the hard rains of grace are sometimes even uncomfortable, stripping away things in us that are painful, like our selfishness and pride. 

But isn't this the grand plan? Didn't Christ die for our sins to be washed away so we could be made right with God, and walk freely out in the open with him?

There, my friends, is where we are called to be. 

There, out in the open, is where we will truly find life, and find it even more abundantly.