A WOMAN OF GRACE
By
Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid (February 7, 2018)
“For by grace are we saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10, King James Version [By grace are we saved]).
Greetings in the Holy Name of Jesus,
My sisters and brothers, I thank God for grace. The grace of redemption, the grace of salvation and the grace of eternal life, for I strongly feel within me there is a need for grace. Unlike most but possibly like all in the one body of the faith of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus my faith leads me to an undeniable hope---a hope that is not deferred, a hope that cries out for salvation---a hope that without fail honors the blood of the lamb that saved me---reached out to me, when I held on with all my might, to live a God-fearing life of grace. I grant you the peace of life everlasting as Jesus bestowed upon us all. Surely, sodden hands and unclean thoughts, regrettable and offensive stole away the hope of faith in life everlasting and engaged condemnation---hardly because of anything that a woman of grace could find in her heart to confess to---but because of the sins of the one body. Howbeit we fail to see the truth of our faith in grace disguised in the lies of sinful deeds that killed, stole and destroyed someone---now tucked away as our secrets---sins unknown and better kept that way, so no one is the wiser, for I hope for life everlasting. Who really knows---How cryptic are my antics and foibles----secrets of the truth of my life but I hope, still?
Do my sins take away my hope for life everlasting? I know it takes a well-made up mind to serve the Lord. Hardly anyone is willing to step out of their circle of friends---out of their close-knit neighborhoods where they feel protection to truly serve the Lord as a woman of grace. It is too painful to feel the rejection of different folks---folks I do not know, folks outside of my community---I am afraid of rejection---criticism, those who might not love me and protect me as I feel the love and protection of my close-knit circle of friends. Is it possible for me to still serve God, our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus as a woman of grace? I do not want my children exposed to such contempt as being denied because of their faith---the person of their faith---even the color of their skin. Did God permit anyone of faith to remain with their close-knit circle in their protective communities?
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From Abraham to all of us in modern society---leaving your family and the land of your birth---your intimate town of friends, is too much to bear for to let go and let God speak to your heart and speak to your mind is at a level of trust that I found on my journey whenever the dust on my feet seemingly knocked out the lamp---the light of Jesus and simply put in words---I was forced to wait on the Lord before I could proceed forward. When you know everyone even if they practiced hate then they do not believe in the living God, only a false hope; now, I know that kind of hope is false, for the success of false hope denies the faith of Christ Jesus. There is nothing to hope for---Why must my heart and mind feel the possibilities of the world order? Why must I count on God to save me? For me, I know I need God to save me, for His gift of grace---the idea of a loving Father making a way out of no way before whatever misfortune falls upon your life is so endearing your heart and mind explodes with love, for there is nothing as painful as abandonment, denial and false love.
Most importantly, we are called to obey our LORD God for He told Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of knowledge---good and evil [Genesis 2:17,KJV] yet Eve was tempted just because she was commanded not to, such a rebellious mind and heart---she could not resist going where she was told not to go and she could not resist eating the fruit and sharing the fruit to eat with Adam. There we see the truth of the nature of man to lie to himself in his heart for Adam, once he realized he could not get away with such a sin against the Word of God---he immediately abandoned Eve as woman of his rib and told God she was merely the woman He gave him. How close-knit was the Garden of Eden---God with Adam, Eve and the animals? How could just knowing about a forbidden place with forbidden fruit persuade Eve to disobey? I thank God for all the women of grace who made success out of their close-knit communities and all the women of grace whose children obeyed and no evil fell upon their lives.
Life in the living of it, is wonderfully blessed when you hear of the obedient children of God---that’s how Job was but God let Satan test his faith in loyalty whether he would curse God and die or not. Job held on just like I did for I believed that God would save me for His grace sustained me through my Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus but I tell you just as Job suffered I suffered until God loosed me---woman thou art loosed; the suffering crushed my heart---a crushing-type of suffering for all that you believe in was what you thought about and felt in your heart and mind until the test of faith was over and you were released back to a life of joy in faith. Job lost everything---I did not lose everything but my heart was broken every day---my heart hurt terribly every day and like Job my friends stayed in touch but somehow I knew they stood on the battlefield with me, some probably questioning my every action from the time I met them until that exacting day of getting caught up with false love from family. However remorseful, my close friends hid their doubting thoughts and lifted me up in the hope of grace but those who were new friends put me on trial---tried me in the fire of disbelief--- questioning every
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possibility, some even opted to believe those who stood against me out of fear to befriend the greater power on earth but I believed on the greatest power of God to deliver me out of harms way and restore my reputation as an honorable woman of grace.
Not so long ago, in a metropolitan town down south, I remember hearing of children en route to high school that were shot down and killed by an assassin hiding and waiting on the children to walk by to school---some children never made it to class in their close-knit communities. I also recalled attending some funerals of both men and women where the preacher had to tell the congregation that someone had to not love the person who died even though many pleaded that the person that died was beloved by everyone---especially those who were murdered by a broken heart or suffered illness out of an unclean spirit placed on them through witchcraft. The preacher said, “Someone did not love them.” Sometimes a lie hurts just as horribly badly as the unspoken truth:
“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed art thou amongst women. Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.” [Luke 1:42, KJV]
I thought about a nanny I had to help me with my sons whose husband died because a woman fell in love with him---he was a police officer on an island with honor and status. This woman wanted him so much she went to see a root man who gave her a powder to place in the man she loved drink but the man she loved was another woman’s husband. He drank from her hand and he died. His wife found out there was a woman in love with her husband who wanted him so much she gave him more than the prescribed amount to force him to leave her---his wife. Do you think the preacher who spoke over his corpse said, “God makes no mistakes? Someone did not love him.”
In a weird sort of way—a turn in faith but a friend of mine told me someone tried to take her husband the same way by putting something in his drink when he went to the woman’s house hired to do a job for her---weird that the root man is still giving out the mixture to put in drinks even in another country, far away but her husband did not die, however, she had to pray a lot to save him and to keep him as her husband. Do we question our good intentions---the same good intentions that pave the road to hell? A woman of grace must have faith—the faith of Jesus to tear down walls---the partitions that separate us. Jesus saves. “Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” [II Thessalonians 1:2, KJV]. Amen.
