BORN IN THE PEW (But Almost Missed Grace)

I was almost born in a church pew. Mom went into labor singing “Amazing Grace” but didn’t want to cause a ruckus. So she waited until the Mother’s Day sermon was over to rush to the hospital.

Later, Mom reframed the narrative. “Nikki was so good that she waited for the church service to be over before she was born.”

That’s what happened to a lot of Sunday School kids like me — somewhere along the way we picked up a faulty theology that said being good preceded being born.

And staying good kept us saved.

Your childhood may have looked like mine — put on the fast track to the front pew where the good Christians sat. To get there, we had to conform to the rules.

We submitted unruly hair to pink sponge curlers and forced sweaty feet into spit-shined plastic shoes.

But after years of trying, our sin always found us white-knuckling it in the last pew, one foot out the door.

Because the Gospel truth we missed is that we are ALL born sinners, even those of us practically delivered in the pews. Our salvation isn’t earned through recitations, membership, or good behavior. The only way to be made holy is through the blood of Jesus Christ.

For broken believers like us, that’s really GOOD NEWS.

“But now [at this very moment] in Christ Jesus you who once were [so very] far away [from God] have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

-Ephesians 2:13 (AMP)

I’m pretty sure that Jesus shouted, “It is finished!” so the people hanging out in the back row could hear.

His mercy extends far beyond your sin. His grace reaches well past your best Sunday School effort.

The blood of Jesus alone reserves your permanent seat in heavenly places with Him. And His Spirit continues to move you closer and closer to God’s heart.

Even on the days when you’re feeling a little antsy, even when all you see in the mirror is an old holy-roller with nothing but wrinkles and flaws — know this.

God’s Word declares that one day, face to face with your Savior, you’ll be like Him.

“When He appears, we shall be like Him because we shall see Him as He is.” -1 John 3:2

Not because you finally made it to the right pew, but because you’ll clearly see Who brought you there.

That’s the story we Sunday School kids need to stick to — born ruckus-causing sinners, permanently delivered into the arms of His Amazing Grace.