In particular, I was thinking about a decision I made over twenty years ago to move from North Carolina to Atlanta. My first wife had won legal custody of our children before leaving me and moving to Atlanta. For six months I drove six hours each way every other weekend to see my three young sons. Some weekends I brought them back to my home, and then returned them back to Atlanta, which meant 24 hours on the road.
I greatly desired to spend every available moment with my children. The long distance commute did not seem to make sense to go on for years on end. Ultimately, I decided to move to Atlanta.
It was an easy decision with difficult consequences.
My trials and tribulations could be chronicled in sad detail. Suffice it now to say I had some years of pain, financially, emotionally, and socially. Yet, in many ways, those years I was the strongest physically and spiritually.
After having a delightful visit with my three grandchildren the other day, I drove home and started thinking again about my decision years ago to move to Atlanta. Twenty years ago I did not have the foresight to realize that decision would afford me the opportunity now to spend time, not only with my adult children, but even with my grandchildren.
As I reflected on my family situation more, I started thinking it was not simply my free will to choose that brought me to this point. It is God’s grace that I am what I am, and where I am. I realized it was God’s prevenient grace at work the whole time without my awareness.
The term prevenient comes from the Latin praevenire—“to come before.” In Christian theology it means the grace that comes before any human decision or endeavor. The United Methodist Book of Discipline (2004) defines prevenient grace as, "...the divine love that surrounds all humanity and precedes any and all of our conscious impulses.
Upon my return home I considered more the tension between my choices and God’s plan for my life. Theologically speaking, I reflected on the differing emphases of Armenianism (human free will) and Calvinism (God’s sovereignty).
OK, with these thoughts, I did a whole lot more reading and reflecting. If you have read thus far … WARNING! This blog is likely to get increasingly boring to you. Stop now and go enjoy some eggnog.
For me, the relief in the tension between free will and God’s sovereignty comes through grace. Mercy is God withholding what I deserve; grace is God giving me what I don’t deserve. The root meaning of the word grace (from the Greek charis) is “gift.” God, in Christ, offers me the gift of a relationship that provides life abundant and eternal.
John Wesley’s description of grace helps me to understand better the forces at work in my life. Wesley wrote about grace that is prevenient, justifying, and sanctifying. For my purposes now I will write only about prevenient grace, as I try to understand what God has done and is doing in my family life.
Prevenient grace is at work before I am even aware of it. Prevenient grace means God is present with me throughout my life. This grace was most clearly at work from my conception to conversion when I accepted the offer of a relationship with God through Christ.
Prevenient grace is the …
- Love of God wooing—like a bridegroom courting his bride (Rev. 22:17).
- Will of God drawing (John 6:44-47).
- Desire of God pursuing (Romans. 5:8).
- Gift of God freeing (Romans 8:31-39; 1 John 4:10, 19).
- Activity of God empowering (Romans 5:6).
Prevenient grace enables me to choose to further cooperate with saving grace. The Bible reminds me that God’s grace has always gone on before me.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you …” (Jeremiah 1:5)
"I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3)
“For thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out …. I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick ….’” (Ezekiel 34:11,16)
"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10)
"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him …” (John 6:44)
“Do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4)
“For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)
Two main streams that have fed my shallow river of theology have been my background as a Baptist and a Methodist. From the Baptists I learned the Bible; from the Methodists I have learned and experienced grace. I will continue on the journey … as the Word of God sheds light by God’s grace!
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