THE GOD OF NIAGARA FALLS

Grace, Discipline and the Calling to Become Light

A Timotheus Monologue

Timotheus walks slowly onto the stage. Behind him is the sound of rushing water. Not music. Water. Immense, unbroken and overwhelming.

He stands silently for a moment, listening.

“Because all things work together for good to those who love God.”

He looks towards the students.

I think that explains it.

Not everything that happens to us is good. Let us be clear about that.

Betrayal is not good.

Sickness is not good.

Failure is not good.

Humiliation is not good.

But God can take what is not good and compel it to serve something good.

For those who truly love Him, the Lord can bend the trajectory of the stars. He can command the very light of the sun. He can summon winds, redirect rivers and make the laws of nature submit to His purpose.

Somehow, He will make all things work together for their good.

He gestures towards the sound of the water.

Have you ever stood before Niagara Falls?

I do not mean that you have seen it in a photograph. I do not mean that you have watched a video recorded by somebody else.

Have you ever stood before it?

When you stand there, you do not merely see the water.

You hear it.

You feel it.

You are confronted by its power.

An immeasurable torrent of water plunges over those mighty falls, second after second, minute after minute, day after day.

It does not pause.

It does not become weary.

It does not stop to ask whether anyone is watching.

It simply pours.

And I think God’s grace towards those He loves is like Niagara Falls.

It never ends.

It never pauses.

It never runs dry.

The God who created those mighty falls knows the name of every molecule of water that tumbles over them. He knows how much water has passed over them from the beginning of time. He knows how much is falling at this very moment, and how much will flow tomorrow.

And that same God knows you.

Not humanity in general.

Not the world as a collective abstraction.

You.

He knows every force that has risen against you. He knows every burden placed upon your shoulders. He knows the wounds you have hidden from those closest to you. He knows every fear you have concealed, every battle you have fought in silence and everything you will require to overcome what stands before you.

His grace is immeasurable.

But there is something we must understand about grace.

Not because grace is dangerous, but because human beings can become dangerous when we misunderstand it.

When people become too confident that God will always rescue them, they may begin to live recklessly.

They stop watching their steps.

They stop examining their conduct.

They stop listening to correction.

They begin to imagine that because God is merciful, consequences no longer exist.

They tell themselves, “Whatever I do, God will forgive me.”

And perhaps He will.

But forgiveness does not always cancel discipline.

Timotheus walks to the blackboard and writes one word:

GRACE

Grace saves us.

But the God who saves us also loves us too much to leave us foolish, arrogant, careless and undisciplined.

And so, He brings us under the yoke of correction.

Beneath the first word, he writes:

DISCIPLINE

Those who rely upon grace but refuse discipline may eventually encounter disgrace.

Grace without discipline will end in disgrace.

Let me say it again.

Grace without discipline will end in disgrace.

God does not discipline us because His grace has failed.

He disciplines us because His grace is still working.

Discipline is not the withdrawal of divine love. Sometimes, it is the strongest evidence that divine love remains.

Scripture tells us that the Lord disciplines those He loves.

He allows consequences to catch up with us. He permits us to stumble. Sometimes, He allows the applause to cease, the doors to close and the things upon which we depended to disappear.

He places us under a yoke until we learn restraint.

Until we learn obedience.

Until we learn wisdom.

Until we learn that grace is not permission to live recklessly.

Grace is the hand that saves us.

Discipline is the hand that teaches us how to remain standing after we have been saved.

He steps closer to the students.

But now listen carefully, because this is where many religious people become cruel.

When you see a man being disciplined by God, walking through his season of disgrace, do not take it upon yourself to enjoy his suffering.

Do not mock him.

Do not deepen his humiliation.

Do not add weight to the burden already bending his back.

Do not look upon him with disgust and call your cruelty righteousness.

You may think you are helping God to punish him.

You are not.

God does not need your assistance to discipline His child.

He did not place that person in the fire so that you could pour petrol into it.

He may have placed him there to correct him.

To humble him.

To refine him.

And ultimately, to raise him again.

What you call his destruction may only be the dismantling of the things that could no longer support his future.

What you call his disgrace may be divine discipline.

What you think is the conclusion may only be the middle of the story.

So be careful.

The person you are pushing down today may be the very person God is preparing to lift tomorrow.

And if you attempt to deepen the disgrace that God is using merely for discipline, you may suddenly discover that you are no longer standing with God.

You are standing against the person God intends to restore.

Timotheus writes a third word beneath the others:

RESTORATION

Divine discipline is never the end of the story.

Its purpose is not destruction.

It may feel like destruction.

It may look like destruction.

The person passing through it may believe that everything has been lost.

But God is not always tearing down when it appears that He is tearing down.

Sometimes, He is removing what cannot support the life He is preparing to build.

Grace saves.

Discipline corrects.

Restoration raises.

And what is the purpose of restoration?

Is it simply to return us to comfort?

Is it merely to give us back our possessions, our reputation and our place among other people?

No.

God restores us so that we may carry His light.

He writes one final word:

LIGHT

God wants you to become His light in the world.

That is the destination towards which grace and discipline are carrying you.

But to become a light, you must first be willing to carry the Light.

You must believe that He is God.

Not a small God.

Not merely the God of the olden days.

Not a God whose power belonged only to Abraham, Moses, David and the prophets.

He is God today.

He is the God of the earth and the heavens.

The God of the oceans and the stars.

The God of Niagara Falls and Jupiter.

The God of every distant world we have discovered and every mystery we cannot yet comprehend.

And this immeasurable God loves you.

His grace is greater than the waters of Niagara. His discipline is evidence that He has not abandoned you. His restoration is proof that your worst season does not have the authority to write your final chapter.

So, when a brother falls, do not dance.

When a sister is disgraced, do not celebrate.

When God is disciplining one of His children, do not volunteer to become His executioner.

Stand nearby.

Pray.

Speak the truth, certainly, but speak it with mercy.

And when the lesson has been learned, extend your hand.

For you do not know what God intends to make of the person whose humiliation you are presently witnessing.

Yesterday, he may have been reckless.

Today, he may be under discipline.

Tomorrow, he may become a light that leads thousands of people out of darkness.

Timotheus turns towards the board. Slowly, he draws a line connecting the four words:

GRACE → DISCIPLINE → RESTORATION → LIGHT

That is how all things work together for good.

Grace finds us.

Discipline forms us.

Restoration raises us.

And then God sends us back into the world to shine.

The sound of the rushing water grows louder.

His grace does not pause.

It does not become weary.

It does not run dry.

It simply pours.

Like Niagara Falls.

That is all I have to say about this matter