Law, Order, and Grace, Sweet Grace

a lesson learned...

Something good happened over the weekend (other than the F-18 air show), and I believe that this event will be of benefit to both myself and to you, fans of A Form of Sound Words. What happened? I made peace with an enemy, a fellow I believed was a troll.

Now don't get me wrong, this wasn't totally a case of misjudgment. The fact of the matter is the fellow in question left long patronizing remarks in my comment box, sent e-mails around to my readers which demeaned the Baptist faith, and all this while knowing full well that the remarks were not appreciated. My response to all this was the enforcement of my commenting rules which had his comments deleted and his IP(s) banned. I felt perfectly justified in doing this, since without a doubt, if one wants to maintain a certain order in any given place, rules, and most important, the enforcement of the rules is critical.

But then Saturday happened. The man in question sent me an e-mail, once again criticizing my beliefs and the method by which I blogged. There was something different about this particular e-mail though, it was REASONABLE. Gone was the mockery, the patronizing satire and the demeaning tone. So we had a brief exchange. The man recognized that some of his comments were poor in timing and also recognized that he wasn't going to change my mind about anything through his comments. He apologized for any grief he may have caused (though he was clear that he cared nothing for my views, and maintained that his "satires" were an accurate depiction of my faith), and basically made it clear that he would bother me no more.

I was thankful to God for this, and now I am thankful to God for the lesson He had for me through this. GRACE. When one studies Scripture, if there is any theme that keeps coming back, it's GRACE. So powerful and great is this theme in the Bible, that it often supersedes LAW. For example: in 1 Samuel 21:4-6, David ate of the showbread which was reserved for the High Priest, and for this, he should have been judged. He had sinned against the Law of Moses. Yet, David wasn't condemned. Why? GRACE.

This isn't to say that there is no place for Law and Order. No, no. Law and Order are necessary to the functioning of any system, whether it be the workplace, a country or even a blog. That being said, there is beauty in GRACE, so here goes: ALL BANS ARE LIFTED. All you folks who have broken the commenting rules on more than one occasion, you are given GRACE today.

Now don't sin further by disregarding the rules I have set for my blog. Take advantage of your right to comment here by doing it by the book. I welcome comments on my posts, whether favorable or unfavorable. If it is of the unfavorable type, be RESPECTFUL and share your thoughts, and then, let it go. My comment box is just that, a COMMENT box, NOT a DEBATE box.

If you have forgotten them, click HERE to review the terms of use for A Form of Sound Words.

I hope you all continue to enjoy my blog,

Sincerely,


Rand