Twelve Steps for Progressive Christians
Step 3
Romans 12:1-5
Step 3: We made a decision to turn our lives over to God as we understand God.
Tonight we come to step three in our “Twelve Steps for Progressive Christians” series. We have recognized the brokenness in our lives and our world. We have acknowledged the insanity of our decisions and choices and step three is to make a decision to turn our lives over to God.
Step three involves a decision to let God’s will outweigh our self-centeredness. Letting go of our preconceived ideas and prejudices means we are open to God’s fullness in whatever manifestation it might present itself. Notice that this is an active process. It is not that we simply have a theoretical discussion about the theological possibilities of the existence of grace. It is not simply waiting to see what will happen next or if someone or something can rescue us from our past choices or mistakes. We make a choice for our own good – our own future, our own lives. This decision is a leap of faith because there is not a tangible measure that making this decision will change anything. For progressive people of faith this is a difficult choice. We like facts. We like knowing the answers. We like having the information. Making a decision to turn our lives over to God means we have to trust grace.
For the addict it is the same leap of faith. The Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text says it this way:
“We made the decision; it was not made for us by the drugs, our families, a probation officer, judge, therapist or doctor. We made it. For the first time since that first high, we have made a decision for ourselves.”
As people of faith – in a recovery program or not – learning to trust grace requires a new perspective. Romans 12 calls it a renewing of our minds – to give up on the “patterns of the world” (the choices that led to destruction and disintegration) and to allow grace to transform our thinking, perceptions and our “way of being.” This requires a decision.
In the recovery community I am told that a lot of people tend to recycle through the first three steps multiple times. Recognizing there is a problem, acknowledging that we don’t always have all the answers and making a decision to let go and trust God’s grace are not easy things to do. Even those of us well into recovery will find ourselves revisiting these steps again and again.
The same is true for those of us who have been on the journey of our faith for a long time. We still find areas of our lives that offer resistance to God’s grace. We feel the tug of trying to always be in control. It is difficult to live one’s life trusting grace. What we discover each time we allow ourselves to experience grace is that it always changes something about us. Each time you are able to leap into the arms of God with abandon, it diminishes the fear a bit more. The ability to live one’s life with grace instead of being surrounded by a shield of fear is a life-changing experience.
Our next song describes what this experience can be like. As the Praise Team comes to lead us, I invite you to allow grace to lift you up on eagle’s wings, bear you on the breath of dawn. Allow God’s grace to hold you in that divine palm of care.
Sources:
www.12step.org
http://www.willowcreek.org/twelvestep/twelve.asp
Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text, Chapter 4/Step 3