The Long Game
Ben Roberts

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. - Ephesians 2:4–5

When I was a kid, I lived near a base. Which base, you might ask? I can guarantee you’ve never heard of it; mostly because it was only ever known by the chosen 20–30 kids who lived in my neighborhood. It was a city light post that just happened to sit on the edge of my parents’ lot. It was the Free Base for neighborhood hide-and-seek.

Hide-and-seek was by far my favorite childhood game, mostly because it was played in the early evening just after dark. I was supposed to come in when that light came on. Mostly, I did not. The pull to play at night with the neighbor kids was just too strong.

I bring this up to illustrate a point that I have yet to make. When you play hide-and-seek, the person who is “it” must pursue and ultimately tag the other players. If you have a lazy “it,” the game never moves forward.

This week, Arcola begins a series called “That’s So Methodist.” And no, it is not a month long exploration of the evolution of the potluck. While Methodists love their potlucks, it is not all that distinctive. Other denominations love potlucks too. Get over it!

This first week, we are focusing on our founder John Wesley’s views on how we experience God’s grace. He identified grace in three distinct stages that progress as we encounter faith.

Prevenient grace is God working in the background to bring us to faith. Justifying grace restores us to rightness with God through Jesus’ sacrifice. And sanctifying grace is the deep cleaning of the soul over time as we grow closer to God.

Whole books of theology can and have been written on the Wesleyan/Methodist understanding of God’s grace. I want to focus on a sliver of a sliver of just one aspect of prevenient grace.

Many denominations fall into one of two camps on the nature of grace. Camp 1: grace is available to all to either accept or reject God. Camp 2: God’s grace is irresistible and only available to those God has preordained to salvation. Each side has its problems. Again, whole books of theology…yada, yada, yada.

What was so revolutionary was Wesley’s insight into prevenient grace. While it leans toward Camp 1, God heavily tips the scales. He relentlessly calls us through our conscience, our sense of rightness, our longing for justice, and countless other ways. We can choose yes or no, but God is the one pursuing us, not the other way around.

From the moment we are capable of thought, God is calling us. God desperately wants to know you. He loves you regardless of what you may or may not have done. He wants to know you and share his gift of salvation with you.

To stretch my earlier metaphor, God is “it.” He’s calling “Marco,” or as the hymn writer Will L. Thompson put it:

Come home, come home,
Ye who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling—
Calling, O sinner, come home!

—Softly and Tenderly, Jesus Is Calling, 1880

Can we say no? Sure—but why would we want to? Instead, let’s go home together.

Prayer:
God of my childhood, Polo, a thousand times Polo. Amen.