by Pastor Joel Lawler

My sons have been in Karate training for a while now. My eldest son has done extremely well with it. He is going to be testing for his Brown Belt which means he is getting close to getting his black belt. As his dad, I could not be more proud of how hard he has worked and the dedication that he has shown. I have been there to see every one of his tests and I have also been there for most of his classes and sparing matches. It is a real pleasure to see him excel through his efforts.

His younger brother, who is five years old is doing well too. I am certain that he is going to have similar success to that of his older brother.

After going and watching my sons classes, I decided that it was time to take the next step so I signed up. The first thing I needed to do was buy a uniform which is called a Gi. There are three parts to the uniform. There are pants, a jacket and a belt. The belt that comes with the Gi is white. It is the only belt that can be purchased. All the other belts that are various colors are earned. The white belt signifies that the person wearing it is a beginner and has yet to achieve a rank. Both my boys out rank me. My five-year-old gets a grin on his face when that is mentioned.

There is something healthy about the process because no matter who you are,

when you start Karate, you start at the bottom. The process mandates humility and an acceptance of the beginners lack of rank because it is clearly visible by the belt that is worn.

At our last class, we had kicking drills. The Sensei (teacher) has us break into groups by rank to do the drills. I was over twice as tall as my group and about 30 years older than everyone else as well. There were more than a few giggles directed at me. I had fun with it and gave out generous "high fives" to my fellow white belts as we did our kicks.

It takes time, repetition and a whole lot of patience and work to move through the ranks and be awarded the next color of belt. There are specific moves and forms that have to be learned in order to pass the test to move up. The reward for dedication is achievement and higher rank.

There is something that appeals to the human nature about the martial arts process. We all like to be acknowledged and rewarded for the work that we do. We all want to be respected for our achievements.

With God, this is not possible. There are no gold stars placed on a chart for the good things that we do. We do not get a higher rank for the tests that we pass.

There is no point system and He is not keeping score. It is purely an issue of white and black with God and there is no gray. You are either perfect or you have failed. You cannot tip the scales through your own efforts. Your absolute best is not good enough to please Him and out weigh the bad stuff. We are all equal in that we have all fallen short of His demand for perfection. We had one test and we failed it. That is the bad news.

The good news is that He loves you and I in spite of all the wrong stuff that we have done. He always has and always will. There is nothing you can do to make God love you any more than He already does and there is nothing you can do to make God love you any less because His love for you is complete and unconditional. His grace cannot be earned it is His free gift to you and I. There are no higher ranks or super saints. We are all the same in God's eyes.
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