if I had words

I have been learning a great deal about the grace of God lately. There is a scene from the movie Babe that I think expresses it quite profoundly (and always makes me cry).

Babe is depressed after learning of his potential fate as pork or bacon, and his owner, Farmer Hoggett, notices that he isn't eating. Trying but failing to feed Babe, Hoggett begins, haltingly, to sing a song:

"If I had words to make a day for you
I'd sing you a morning, golden and true
I would make this day last for all time
Then fill the night deep in moonshine"

At first, the song is quiet and almost awkward, but a beautiful Irish-sounding melody beings to play in the background, and Hoggett, who has scarcely spoken 5 words throughout the movie, begins to dance around the room, almost shouting the words to the song, his lively display almost embarrassing to the viewer. Babe, seeing Hoggett's love for him and hope in his recovery, begins to hope again and is able to eat at last.

I feel pretty silly for loving this scene so much, but it speaks so clearly of the grace of God to me! I, like Babe, have felt the weight of condemnation, of my fate without God, and my legalistic side loves to remind me of the fact that I fall so short of God's perfect standard. When I am in that state of mind, God is merely a divine Master to me, the personification of a goal I will never achieve, a never-ending purveyor of "should"s.

The catalyst of this scene, though, is that Hoggett doesn't force Babe to eat or to "snap out of it." Instead of lecturing Babe on the value of proper eating habits, Hoggett invites him to eat by simply singing a song. By expressing his vitality and joy through his song, Hoggett shows Babe how much he wants him to have this same joy. There is also a fundamental shift in the relationship between Babe and Hoggett; Babe becomes a friend instead of a mere animal to Hoggett, and Hoggett looks at Babe almost as a father would his lost son.

In the same way, God does not force us to recognize His glory, or even acknowledge Him for that matter, but invites us into His life for us. Only when we hear of the hope He offers do we catch a glimpse of the life we could have with Him as our Friend and Father instead of Master.

This is what God has been teaching me lately. He offers me His grace gently, in bits small enough for me to swallow instead of overpowering me with a greater glimpse. He has been, to quote Nicholas Nickleby, "persuad[ing] me that I am safe." And I am slowly learning to trust in His goodness.

"The Lord your God is with you; He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing." -Zephaniah 3:17