Is Your Boss Gracious?

[HKHaugan]

When you apply for a job one of the big questions is about the kind of atmosphere there is in the working place.

What kind of a boss do you have? Is he hard to work for? Is he fair? How does he treat his colleagues? Does he recognize a job well done? What kind of working environment are you in? Are you expected to produce a lot, do you get time off, are there bonuses at the end of the year? Are there health benefits, time off and opportunities for advancement? And of course, is the salary commensurate with your ability and experience?

Then, if you are hired the issues become what do you have to know about the people you work with? Who are the ‘ins’ and ‘outs?’ What about the political gamesmanship needed? Who are the gossips, the wisest and the ones you can trust? It takes time to adjust, to learn what and what not to do and say and how to generally ‘fit in.’

You can pretty much apply those questions to any social, educational, sports, recreational and religious environment you happen to find yourself in. But the bottom line is the atmosphere, the environment, the relational context you choose to enter. There are all kinds of hoops you have to go through.

Now shift into the bigger spiritual picture for a moment. Think about the spiritual environment God is offering us. Unlike the world’s environment of working to be accepted, having to work your way into a company or a team or a group, you find immediate acceptance, a place to exercise who you really are and a willingness to help regardless of who you are or what your social position is. Just the fact that you are an image of God, a person, a human being, qualifies you to be part of God’s spiritual family.

You don’t have to be perfect or work to fit someone else's idea of what being good means. No one is perfect, we all are error prone and will probably continue to be so. The immediate point is this, God has by His nature, the desire to accept and have a real relationship with you. It is a relationship in which what makes us imperfect has a cure. It is not a matter of learning the idiosyncrasies of a boss and colleagues, earning your way inside, being political and catering to the attitudes and opinions of others. It is being open to let God adjust you as you become a part of His life and family. No more hoops to go through. He grows you.

This different attitude, this new kind of mindset, this caring who you really are and can become is called grace. It is the spiritual atmosphere out of which Creation has come, each of us has been formed and shaped to live forever. This accepting, caring and loving relational approach is what God’s grace is all about. It is totally different than the way the secular environment operates.

Our physical atmosphere is composed of oxygen, nitrogen and a host of other elements that enable us to breathe. The earth is held together by gravity. ‘What goes up must come down.’ The atmosphere and gravity are intertwined to hold us together on this planet to give us a physical environment for existence. They are the copies and shadows of God’s relational spiritual environment. The whole of our visible and invisible environment exists in the context of God’s grace. Grace is its sustenance and maintenance. Grace is the atmosphere and gravity that holds the universe and our lives together. Grace is God’s willingness to share Himself with each person He has created. The freedom to relate to God is His gracious offering of His grace and graceful purpose for us. Grace is the oxygen we breathe with our spirit that moves our hearts and motivates our minds.

God made His grace known through the life, the Cross and the Resurrection of Jesus. His grace is the spiritual foundation of the gifts and fruit of the Spirit. His grace is revealed in the person of His Son Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of grace who brings the depth of the heart of God into our hearts. It is grace that God has provided for each of our minds so that we can comprehend His mind and presence. So truth has come through grace. His Word is the product of His grace. “It is by grace that we have been saved through faith (Eph.2:5 NIV).”

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
“John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’” Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known (Jn.1:14-18 NIV).”