Friday, January 16, 2009

Thankful Thursday...a day late

Yes, I'm behind on my weekly post. My apologies for all of you who waited on pins and needles. Even though I think the only people that read this regularly are me and Bret.

Today I am thankful for the book of James, as found in the Bible. I finished it yesterday and I just love it! Reading it reminded me of a happening in high school. Here's the story:

I was working in the library when my very religious table mate said, "Can I ask you a question?" I gave permission and he asked me whether I and my church believed in being saved by grace or by works. I told him, "both." He asked me to explain further, so I did. When I finished he said, "So you believe you're saved by grace then?"

"No, both." Wondering if he was hearing the words I was saying, I explained some more. When I finished again he said, "Then, you're saved by works?"

"Noooo...Both."

He sat back looking pleased and like he'd caught me in a lie or proved I was a member of a heathen church. This was my very first experience with the grace versus works issue (which I didn't even know existed beforehand). I was extremely confused and just decided to get back to my work. That night at dinner I related the experience to my parents and asked if I'd said something wrong (I wish I could remember how I explained it). My dad said that I'd said everything right, but it sounded like my table mate wasn't looking for an answer, but an argument.

A very interesting learning experience for 16 year old me.

But good ol' James. He gets it:)

1 comment:

korth fam said...

I read it, if it matters :)