Jumping into the Pool- Living in Grace

Remember Cynthia Rigby. She was the energetic theologian from Austin Seminary where Meghan (Hawthorne) Ludwig will be going to school next year. Cynthia spoke at our Wichita International Trinity Conference last year and also at Westover Hills Presbyterian Church(where my son and daughter-in-law are elders) this year. As I have been driving around Little Rock this summer I have been listening to her teaching on grace from a CD of her Little Rock presentation. One image- grace as a pool of water- has really stayed with me. Dr. Rigby suggests that one way to think about grace is as a pool of water that is there, it is refreshing, it is a community pool, it is good, it is free but we are afraid to jump into in. We might get our hair messed up. It might be cold for a moment. We will get wet. WE MIGHT DROWN. (After all the whole symbolism of baptism is drowning to an old way of life and being born into a new life in Christ.) We might put our toe into it. We might encourage our children to wade into the shallow end (with a warning) but for some reason we are reluctant to personally jump into the grace of God just as we might be reluctant to jump into a swimming pool. It's a fascinating image as I explore ways to think about- The love of God, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the communion of the Holy Spirit- the Trinity.

Last Sunday after church I had the analogy come alive for me as we invited our grandkids to come over to the pool to swim. We had bought lots of pool toys to entertain the kids. Ashton, our oldest grandson enjoyed diving for the pool toys as they were designed and playing catch with the soft football. He played well within the rules we had set up with the toys we had brought for our little group. He reminded me of me. Ethan on the other hand approached the pool as an adventure in grace. He would jump in wherever he was, knowing that one of us would grab hold of him and bring him out of the water. When he was underwater, he was in no hurry to get up. He seemed to like being immersed. The toys we had brought were fine but he was not constained by our toys and before I knew it, he had made friends with another young adult in the pool and she offered him her floating device. Before the afternoon was over he knew just about everyone in the pool, he hadn't drowned (not for lack of trying) and we all had a great time. He approached the pool as grace, full of confidence that he was safe, fully engaged in the community, wanting to stay forever and anxious to come back soon and often. I think this was Cynthia Rigby's notion of grace as a swimming pool. We were more comfortable playing with the toys we brought, with the group we were familiar with and yet we were drawn by the youngest in our group and his unbridled enthusiasm, to encounter the whole pool, the whole community and to share everything we had with each other. Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me and hinder them not; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.' I am amazed how much Ashton and Ethan teach me about myself and God's kingdom.