The Hammock of Grace

An ideal hanging hammock is when the two ropes are securely tied to two sturdy poles. Hammock cannot be strong enough to support one's weight unless it is firmly tied to its two strong anchors. Let's consider that the hammock is a depiction of a Christian life how one perceives the past, and how its present responds to the future.

The two poles are the past and the future, while the hanging hammock is the present. They are all connected. What makes the present secure enough is when the past and future are strongly holding it. The question is, how does the future hold the present? It is when the present responds to the future based on the results of the past.

In the context of the Israelites, they gave an immense ethical importance to their present by responding to their future through the vision of the prophets. How did the prophets visualise the future is by looking to their past. Perceiving the past is not just remembering but also reviewing how YHWH redeemed them from captivity. This YHWH’s redemption doesn’t result an accumulation of advantage for themselves, but rather a preparation to respond to God’s call to be a blessing to all nations. (Psalm 67:1-2)

God’s redemption is His act of grace. It is bringing us out, liberating us and restoring us from the condition of bondage because of his purpose to bless us. It therefore means that God's redemptive grace is hidden in the concept of bondage. They are both connected and intertwined. We cannot comprehend the consolation of God's redemption if we do not see the reality of the loneliness of bondage.

Being redeemed from the past is life-giving, life-restoring and life-renewing. It always gives a newness of life that keeps our present going, moving forward, and looking beyond what lies head. While we are swinging on this hammock of God's redemptive grace, may God give us the realisation of our calling to be a blessing to others so that others would also experience his redemption and grace.

Photo credits:
xtrahotbandito

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