Grace

During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith.  They began eliminating possibilities.  Incarnation?  Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form.  Resurrection?  Again, other religions had accounts of return from death.  The debate went on for some time until C.S. Lewis wandered into the room.  “What’s the rumpus about?” he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussion Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions.  Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy.  It’s grace.”

“After some discussion, the conferees had to agree.  The notion of God’s love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity.  The Buddhist eight-fold path, the Hindu doctrine of karma, the Jewish covenant, and Muslim code of law – each of these offers a way to earn approval.  Only Christianity dares to make God’s love unconditional.”  (Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace)

This story reminds us again how audacious and unsettling grace can be. The idea of receiving something for nothing goes against the fabric of most Americans who value pulling oneself up by their own bootstraps and building their own legacy. Yet, the heart of the Scriptures teaches that if it weren’t for grace, we would all be in serious trouble. No amount of hard work or diligent planning or innovation can overcome the sin problem that resides in all of our hearts. The fact of the matter is that no matter how much good we try to do, we can never live up to the standard that God has prescribed for us in his word.

Fortunately for us, God is a God of grace. As Yancey writes, “only Christianity dares to make God’s love unconditional,” and this unconditional love motivated God to send his only begotten son to die on a cross so that whoever trusts in him will have everlasting life. The apostle Paul writing to the church in Ephesus gives us that well known truth: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9). And when we really grasp the magnitude of grace there should be some tangible evidence in our lives. 

The first thing grace should do is allow us to take a deep breath and relax. The amount of energy we spend worrying about and second guessing every decision and action would be enough to stun a team of oxen. But, when we truly believe that our standing before God is secure because of His love for us and not our performance, we can let go of that stress and disquiet, and enter into the rest that Jesus has secured for us. 

The second thing grace should do is free us up to quit worrying about our own failures and focus our attention on loving and serving others. When we no longer have to scrutinize every move and question every motive, we will find that we have quite a bit more bandwidth in our lives to focus on the needs of others. And the more we serve, the more we experience the beauty of being the type of human we were created to be.

So, as we move into a new year and spend some time thinking about new habits and new resolutions, let’s all endeavor to spend some time meditating on the beauty and wonder of grace.