Christian Living
Grace is a word that we often hear in association with God. We frequently hear phrases such as “by the grace of God” or “through the grace of God”. At mealtime most people say “grace” before starting to eat. Yet despite our constant use of this word, no one can really explain what grace is. Even people who have experienced God’s grace have difficulty explaining this idea because it is a concept beyond our limited understanding.
For me, grace has taken many forms. As a child it was a sigh of relief when a teacher decided to postpone a test or a parent said, “I’m not going to punish you, this time.” It was a shout for joy when a lost item was found. As an adult it was an overwhelming feeling of love the first time I held my children. All too often, though, it has been a hug during times of sorrow.
My greatest lesson in grace, however, was not experienced by me personally. Nor was it taught to me in the confines of a church or the pages of the Bible. I witnessed it following the death of my dad. Growing up there was never a lot of money in our family. Of course as a child I never realized this because there was always a roof over our heads, food to eat, and clothes to wear. It was not until I hit the teenage years and began succumbing to peer pressure that I realized there wasn’t a lot of wiggle room in the family budget. I can still recall those conversations with my dad when I would complain because someone had something that we didn’t have and couldn’t afford. Dad would calmly reassure me that there were things in life that he too wanted, but that as long as he had everything he needed he had no room to complain. I never worried too much about life, taking all the blessings in my life for granted.
Then just a few weeks after my twenty fifth birthday, life as I knew it collapsed around me. Dad was murdered during a work related robbery. In the days and weeks that followed I was truly humbled for the first time in my life. As with any death, friends, family, and neighbors gathered around us with gifts of food and condolences. What humbled me, though, were the stories strangers kept telling me about my dad. People my mom and I had never met came to us with money, all saying the same thing, “Brooks never allowed me pay him back.” It seems that whenever my dad heard of people who were in need he would reach into his pocket and give them whatever he had. It didn’t matter if dad knew these people or not. Usually they were passing acquaintances. He never expected or even wanted to be paid back. He was actually offended when someone offered to return his gifts. Amazing when you think of our society today.
I often wonder if that’s the way God feels toward us. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.” Grace is a gift from God. When we receive birthday gifts, do we feel obligated to repay that person? No. We generally acknowledge that gift with a thank you. Why is it then that so many of us feel the need to repay God with good works? We tithe not from our hearts but because it is expected of us, and we then claim those same tithes on our taxes so that we can get a deduction. We donate to charities, but we make sure that we get a receipt so that we can deduct those donations from our taxes. It’s like we’re saying, “Hey, look, I helped others. Now give me my reward.” We volunteer to help out with various charities or outreach programs, but we make sure that all our friends and acquaintances know about it. We go to God in prayer and say, “Look at all I have done for you. Aren’t you proud of me?” How often do we look at our own lives and thank God for all that he has done for us?
God sent his son, Jesus, to die for our sins. Talk about grace. In John 15:13, Jesus tells us, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus died for each and every one of us. He didn’t just reach into his pocket and say, “Here, take this money and pay your rent.” Jesus gave us his very last breath so that we can have eternal life. How can we ever expect to pay that back on our own merit? We can’t. That’s why God’s grace is so awesome. There is nothing that we can do in this life to ever repay God for that gift of eternal life. God sacrificed his own son for us. I have lost a son. I know the agony and pain of holding a dead child in your arms. To know that God allowed his son die so that I can live, well that’s more than my finite human mind can comprehend. That’s why it amazes me when people honestly believe that they can earn their way into heaven. We can’t repay God for His gift. It is not possible.
I sometimes wonder, if like Dad, God gets offended when we try to repay Him for His gift. Does God want us to do good works, to help others. Yes. The question for us, though, is what is our motivation. Why are we doing this? For my dad, at least, the answer was simple and straight forward. At some point in his life he had received God’s grace. He understood just what it was that God had done for him, and he was humbled by it. He could never repay God, but in his own way he could help others. Grace is not earned, it is received. Once received, it takes on a life of its own. It overflows into all other areas of our lives, touching the lives of all those we meet.
Thousands of people attended Dad’s funeral. Extra chairs had to brought into the already packed sanctuary, but even that was not enough. Latecomers simply crowded as best they could around the open windows so that they could at least hear the sermon. For many of those people, it was the first time they had been anywhere near a church. They went because a kind man had shown them grace. He had been kind to them after a lifetime of hardship and heartache. He loved them simply because they, like him, were children of God.
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