Standing in grace, dying of laughter

Because we who believe

are justified by faith

and nothing else,

we have peace with God

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Not only that,

but our faith also

gives us access into

“this grace in which we stand.”

Standing in grace

(Scotty, beam me up)

(under a waterfall

that soaks

power, love, and a sound mind

into the core of our being),

we rejoice in the hope

of the glory of God

(which we glimpse from

time to time now,

but which will surround us

and which we’ll be part of

when we get back home).

That glory, God’s glory,

to the exact extent

we are willing to see it

and marvel at it

and revel in it,

produces in us the ability

to glory in tribulations

(exuberant, eager expectation

of the good that’s just around

the corner as we walk down

the darkest alley in the

meanest city).

That attitude; yes, I would

love to swing on a star,

carry moonbeams home

in that jar; brings me

to the place where

nothing in this world

can ever defeat me:

Where tribulation produces

perserverance,

and perserverance produces

character (oh, how I love characters!)

and character produces

hope.

Now this hope, and only

this hope, does not disappoint

because the escalator

that brought us here

brought us through

God’s waterfall of love

where the Holy Spirit

pours on us and into our hearts

even as He stands beside us,

holds our hand, and

catches us when we

begin to fall,

so we’re dying of laughter

as we live out our faith.

Amen.

(Romans 5:1-5)