“Surprise us, Lord!”, were some of the heart-felt words we prayed as my son, Micah, and I were heading down highway 89 on the way to our first Free Grace International (FGI) Men’s Retreat. For a variety of reasons, we were both deeply desiring to stand with other men on the common ground of God’s free grace, theologically. But even more than that, we were in desperate need of authentic fellowship, sharing life with other brothers through the lens of this abundant grace for everyday living. And that is exactly what God provided for us throughout our time at Bryce and Zion National Parks with these fellow FGI-guys! We were so blessed that this group of 23 men, most of whom we had never met, could so naturally talk, hike and talk some more about the biblical realities and life experiences of God’s free grace. This sharing happened consistently on the trail, back at the cabin and everywhere in between. As I was trekking through the cold waters in The Narrows of the Virgin River, I had a surprising and significant thought come to my mind about this FGI retreat. FGI is arguably the most digitally-focused and virtually-organized group within the Free Grace movement. And yet, here we were… a part of one of the most relationally healthy in-person adventures I have experienced, especially among those of the XY chromosome. All gathered around His amazing grace. What sweet irony: more relational due to the digital. Definitely significant and bit surprising. And yet, should I expect anything less of God’s free grace in my life? What begins as theological naturally becomes transformational. Because of this men’s hiking retreat, these words of the apostle really hit home in a fresh way:

…I have written to you briefly in order to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it! (1 Peter 5:12b).  

Just like Peter, I am more convinced than ever to be testifying about God’s “true grace”. And yet, Peter does not stop there. In fact, he leaves his readers with an imperative to stand strong in the purity of God’s grace together. In real time, for the real stuff of life. So, instead of being surprised to find free grace in the normalcy of life, I am even more encouraged to be unsurprised because grace must be that significant and that relevant for everything God calls us to as men, sons, husbands, fathers, grandfathers, etc. For each of us that were a part of this FGI male-bonding moment, it truly became just that: a brotherhood challenged to walk together in His grace alone through all kinds of obstacles and opportunities that we meet on life’s trail. 

Thank you, FGI, for the powerful opportunity to continue building our intellectual understanding of Free Grace theology. But even more significantly, and not surprisingly, thank you for creating the time to help shape and sharpen our practical living by the freeness of His grace together.