Coach Dooley meets John Wesley

It was a great day Saturday down by the St. John's River.  The Georgia Bulldogs prevailed over the Florida Gators in a game that really wasn't as close as the score would indicate but still close enough that I probably would not have wanted my blood pressure taken during the contest.

Since arriving in Athens I have enjoyed being a part of the Touchdown Club of Athens and made my way over to the Athens Country Club Monday night for a meeting.  The room was filled with Bulldog fans who were relishing in the win over the Gators last Saturday.  The featured speaker was Coach Vince Dooley, who pretty much owned the Gators during his twenty-five years of guiding the Bulldog ship.

I don't know how many times over the years I've heard Coach Dooley speak at various functions but he stated that Monday evening would be his last speech to the Touchdown Club.  At age 87 I'm sure he is ready to wind down just a bit.  

Quite frankly Coach Dooley didn't spend a whole lot of time discussing football.  Rather, he talked about life.  The thrust of his speech was that luck was found at the intersection of preparation and opportunity.  He stressed the importance of always preparing for any opportunities that might come one's way.

It was the word preparation that jogged this United Methodist preacher's brain cells.

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist tradition, spoke of something called "prevenient grace."  Wesley said that "prevenient grace" was the work that God did in a person's life before they accepted the grace of God for themselves.  In other words, "prevenient grace" was God's way of preparing one to becoming a follower of Christ.

The truth is that God is at work in our lives before we were even born.  When I was born God had already done his work of grace when Jesus came and give his life on the cross.  God had already acted in my life one thousand nine hundred and sixty one years (give or take a year) before I was born.  God did the same for all of us.  This isn't to say that God knew we were to be born one day but God was ready for us when we were.  That is prevenient grace.

Prevenient grace can be found in the words of the pastors, Sunday School teachers, friends and family members.  Prevenient grace is found in anything that leads us to accepting Christ.  None of us learn about Christ on our own but rather we are taught.  Prevenient grace is not something we earn.  Like any form of grace it is a gift that God gives us.  Prevenient grace is God's gift of preparation.

As with any gift one has a choice.  Does one accept the gift or does one toss the gift aside?  With grace God gives us a choice.  We can accept his gift of grace and love or we can reject it.  Wesley says that when we accept his gift of grace that is called justifying grace.

So it is that the preparation God has done in your life and mine will intersect with the opportunity to accept God's grace.  Yes, sometimes luck is found at the intersection of preparation and opportunity.  However, when it comes to grace, when preparation and opportunity intersect and we say yes to God's grace that is called salvation.

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