Barneyisfat

All I know about Gerald is that he had been in prison for a number of years before he gave his life to Christ. According to him he had "worked for satan for so long" he didn't know anything other than that. We discussed the temptation to sin. Gerald told us about one of his temptations to sin this week. He was at a hardware store - one with jacked up prices - and he was buying two connector pieces. He had bought them a few months earlier for another project and they had been 2.50 each. This time they were $5 a piece. He had been in prison for stealing. It wouldn't be anything new to him. But, Jesus convicted him. See, a mexican boy works for him - and this mexican boy wants to learn about Jesus. And, he knew that the mexican boy would have a lot of questions if Gerald bought one connector and then produced two at the job sight. So, Gerald didn't steal the connectors. Gerald talked about living under Grace and not under the law.

I've figured it out this way. I'm not sure if I'm right, theologically, but I know it helps me to understand. We are all little kids playing out in the yard. The church (and Toccoa Falls) tries to put up a fence around the yard. It's a way to contain the kids so they don't run out into the street and get smashed by a car. That's the law. It's a fence that keeps us from running into the road. Sometimes that fence is very confining. At TFC that fence is built a good hundred yards from the road. We are trapped. God doesn't need a fence. He's out in the yard playing with the little kids. He makes sure that they know that the road is bad and dangerous. He gives the kids plenty of room to run and have fun - but he's always watching out for their safety. That's living under Grace.

The Law: A fence, meant to contain us and stop us from doing bad.
The Grace: A Father who keeps his children safe by playing with them and encouraging them to do good.

Gerald never dealt well with the fences the church put up. It was the only thing they could do, though. Gerald has a lot more fun and enjoys his life now that he is out on the field playing with God. It's how grace works.