what i’ve learned about me and God: part iii

When I was an undergrad student, I had a great professor, the late Dr. Don Slechta.  The man was one of those brilliant, mildly-crass dudes that could look right into your heart and mind.  From the moment I met him, I loved him.  I remember going into his office one time and he was there smoking a Camel (yes, indoors!!!), eating peanuts and sipping on some tomato juice. Nice diet. Anyway, he was an attorney and had this scope of knowledge like few I had ever met and he was one of the reasons I chose to go to law school. I credit his classes with giving me big advantage going into law school…now that’s a killer prof! During the couple of years I took classes with him he taught me so much but 2 mottos for law and life still come to mind, almost daily.

Dr. Slechta axiom for law: “The slightest change in the facts can change the applicable law and/or the outcome of any case.” 

Dr. Slechta axiom for life: “But for the grace of God, there go I.“  This is not a Dr. Slechta original but he’s the first I heard say it.

Perhaps the first can be a topic for a later blog post, but today, I’d simply say I deeply affirm Dr. Slechta’s axiom for life, which I interpret this way: by God’s grace, and grace alone, I live and do what I do. God can stop the heart He gave me whenever He wishes. And, He wouldn’t do so arbitrarily; He may do so as part of a bigger plan He’s crafting. This life we live is sustained purely by God’s grace. It is true, in fact, that “this is His world, we are just livin’ in it!” Now, I don’t mean to make God sound human, because often we’ll take our understanding of man and reflect that understanding to our understanding of God. That is a fatal mistake. God is completely “other worldly.” His ways…higher than ours. His decisions cannot be completely understood or categorized in human terms. And, in the midst of all that other-worldliness, He invites us in. He created us to cultivate and rule the earth in harmony with Him and He listens to us and craves for us to communicate with Him. But, at the end of the day make no mistake, you and I live because God allows it.

“But for the grace of God, there go I.” 

Thanks Dr. Slechta.