The Grace That Goes Before

While a student at Nazarene Theological Seminary in the early ’80s, I had taken classes taught by Dr. Morris Weigelt and Dr. Dee Freeborn. I loved and respected them both, so when NTS offered its first ever spiritual formation class, team-taught by the two of them, I excitedly enrolled in it.

Spiritual formation was a new concept to me then, but I looked forward to being taught by those two men and getting in on the ground floor of this new idea.

At the time, I thoroughly enjoyed reading and studying Wesleyan theology. I had a basic understanding of prevenient grace but hadn’t given it much thought. Was that ever about to change!

One of our class assignments was to identify 12 “stepping stones” in our lives that contributed to our personal spiritual formation. I began to think (and yes, even pray) about that. I discovered that of the 12 I identified, three of them preceded my conversion!

That didn’t seem right. How could that be so since I thought everything “spiritual” began when I first confessed my sins and believed?

Then I saw it! God was already at work in my life before I knew Him! He was being gracious to me so that I could know Him intimately!

I remembered the time when I wanted to harm myself but realized the impact that would have on my parents. His prevenient grace helped this self-centered teenager think about someone else for once.

Another memory surfaced of two men at a gas station witnessing to me after hearing my foul mouth at work. One of them asked the other if he should tell me about the “King of kings and Lord of lords.” They were planting seeds.

Then there was the memory of my high school cross country coach including me in his invitations to attend the Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting he hosted in his home. (Having never been a force to be reckoned with when it came to running, I was just the team manager.) I wouldn’t be surprised at all to find out in heaven that Coach Bowers had prayed for me.

Identifying those 12 “stepping stones” taught me the value and significance of spiritual reflection. I also now understood prevenient grace at a profoundly personal and practical level.

God had been pursuing me before I came to know Him. He had been orchestrating events in my life to draw me to Him. He used followers of Jesus to share the good news with me.

Oh, today, I am praying for a sensitivity to the Spirit and an awareness of where and with whom His grace is at work so that I might fulfill the mission to make Christlike disciples along the Journey of Grace!