Rhythms of Grace

Have you ever felt like something was forced? Like you were trying so hard to make something happen that maybe just wasn't quite right? Lots of effort and no movement or return? I've been there before, and thought a lot about this recently. Sometimes I think we see things like faith or even our daily routines in this light. We do all these things to keep "busy", but what kind of return does it provide? I recently spent a weekend by the beach, and one of the most soothing, mesmerizing things is the consistency of the waves breaking upon the shoreline. As I watched the sun sinking below the horizon, and listened to the sound of the waves, I was reminded of the effortless rhythm of the ocean. It isn't forced, it's free--free to be wild and strong, and never tries to become something that it isn't. Isn't that a picture of what grace is like? We may paint it to be something that's constricting, and perhaps in light of how people view/do religion, that may very well be, but in reality, grace is freedom, unforced and consistent. As I've pondered this thought for the last few days, I awoke one morning with the phrase "unforced rhythms of grace" in my mind. A quick search provided the full passage found in Matthew 11, verses 28-30, which says,

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Unforced rhythms of grace...simple, easy, freeing. Isn't that how we want to feel? Not weighed down by the burdens of this world, or confined by what society says we should say/act/do, but free--free to live, to breathe, and to love. Unforced, unfettered, and alive. I love how scripture describes the way in which we can obtain this kind of life. In fact, it almost sounds like a rhyme or rhythm in it's sound.
Walk with me, work with me--watch how I do it
There's the key. I don't have to do things on my own, try to become perfect, or conform to something that isn't consistent with who I am. It's grace, unforced and consistent. I don't have to try to earn it, I just have to live in it. All I have to do is walk with Him, work with Him, and watch how He does it. It's something so simple it's almost complex...how could it be that easy? Are you sure?
Walk with me, work with me--watch how I do it. 

Unforced rhythms of grace. You are not confined to standard of perfection, walk in the abundance and freedom of grace.

''Walk with me, work with me--watch how I do it.''