The pervasive presence of a holy God is the greatest threat that mankind, or any species with a free volition, can possibly face. In our human day-to-day world, we can avoid offending the authorities by avoiding the authorities. The news that the authorities are not just ever-watching but ever-present is a horror from which it is impossible to recover left to oneself: in fact, even if it were not an authority, the constant weight of a third party, authority or no, is psychological torture. We are left with That Awful Thing – that horrible and inexpressible It – to which and from which all accusations and feelings of guilt are directed.

The only hope given this holy God, and the message of Christianity, is that That Thing has come and made itself known, and has expressed to us love and acceptance, over and above the anxiety of guilt and condemnation. This is that irresistible and overwhelming quality Christians throughout the ages have called Grace, being welcomed in when the greatest and most rational fear was rejection, being loved when all the world was only condemnation. Paul (Rom 8:15-16) and the disciple John (1 Jn 4:17-18) both echo this:

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God

By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

That Awful Thing which has brought only fear and guilt is at once replaced with the Someone revealed in Christ: the Someone who has adopted us, whose Spirit tells us in our spirit that we are God’s children, whom we have no fear of in judgment. Despite a record of near-constant and unabated offense, the New Testament declares over and over again that the grace of Christ has overcome every objection raised against us, so that we ‘approach the throne of grace with confidence, that we may receive mercy and find grace in our time of need.’

This is the mystery which I cannot write about, or speak about, or even communicate to my fellow man. The best I can do is say ‘grace and peace’ – or try to encapsulate in my feeble words the unbelievable news that I have found acceptance where there was none. In the introduction to the Gospel of John, he tries to communicate the unprecedented love of God saying that “the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” This is a much greater statement than we 21st century Westerners can appreciate, not having lived with an oppressive law crying out God’s low view of us, only to have discovered and seen and touched this God, and found him wholly loving where we expected otherwise. All I can say is that such grace overflows into every aspect of life. It recreates the creation, it redeems every person under heaven, it brings joy in the middle of sadness, it brings God into the midst of humanity, and humanity is not destroyed. Its nature is to be received, its rejection is anathema, and now what words I had to describe the grace found in Christ are gone, and I can only place my hand over my mouth and wonder at the freedom and love that exists in God. It is far too much for me.