Grace, grace, God's grace,
grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
grace, grace, God's grace,
grace that is greater than all our sin! I was always so confused by the concept of grace. At least the grace that was taught to me at church confused me. Grace is defined as an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency. Is grace conditional? CAN grace be conditional? According to most "Christians" the answer to that question is yes. That is the part I never understood.
In my opinion, it is not truly grace if it comes with conditions. Anytime I try to wrap my brain around how God sees humans I start by relating it to how I feel about my son. If he screws up and begs me not to punish him and decide not to punish him I have shown him mercy. If he screws up and instead of punishing him I give him $100 even though he didn't deserve it...that is grace. I was taught that God sent his son to die for us....BUT you had to "accept" the gift or it wasn't yours. I used to be a champ and defending this aspect of faith. If I gave you a gift, let's just say I wrote you a check for $1000, and you never cashed it did you truly receive the benefits of my gift? That was always my argument for why some would go to hell...cuz they never "cashed the check". But here is my snag now...while the phrase "the gift of grace" is thrown around quite often...I am not sure it is accurate. A gift does imply that you must accept it to truly have it. To me, that isn't grace.
Here is another analogy that I consider more accurate for grace. Let's say my son has racked up a HUGE debt with a credit card company. This debt is so large there is no way he can pay it off and the creditors are nipping at his heels. He makes a $20 payment here and there but the interest compounds and the debt just keeps growing. I love my son and don't want to see him in financial trouble even though he is in that position by his own doing. What if I called the creditors on his behalf and paid his debt outright. Paid in full. Is this transaction complete without my son doing anything....yes. Does he have to call them and tell the creditors that he wishes to "accept" the payment I made...no. Would I do it because I want my son to now worship me everyday and tell me how awesome I am as a dad....no. I would do it because I love him. Would I tell him that I did this for him BUT...if he doesn't "accept" it then I am going to throw him to the creditors...no. Grace is something given even when undeserved...expecting NOTHING in return.
Keep coming back...it works if you work it....
In my opinion, it is not truly grace if it comes with conditions. Anytime I try to wrap my brain around how God sees humans I start by relating it to how I feel about my son. If he screws up and begs me not to punish him and decide not to punish him I have shown him mercy. If he screws up and instead of punishing him I give him $100 even though he didn't deserve it...that is grace. I was taught that God sent his son to die for us....BUT you had to "accept" the gift or it wasn't yours. I used to be a champ and defending this aspect of faith. If I gave you a gift, let's just say I wrote you a check for $1000, and you never cashed it did you truly receive the benefits of my gift? That was always my argument for why some would go to hell...cuz they never "cashed the check". But here is my snag now...while the phrase "the gift of grace" is thrown around quite often...I am not sure it is accurate. A gift does imply that you must accept it to truly have it. To me, that isn't grace.
Here is another analogy that I consider more accurate for grace. Let's say my son has racked up a HUGE debt with a credit card company. This debt is so large there is no way he can pay it off and the creditors are nipping at his heels. He makes a $20 payment here and there but the interest compounds and the debt just keeps growing. I love my son and don't want to see him in financial trouble even though he is in that position by his own doing. What if I called the creditors on his behalf and paid his debt outright. Paid in full. Is this transaction complete without my son doing anything....yes. Does he have to call them and tell the creditors that he wishes to "accept" the payment I made...no. Would I do it because I want my son to now worship me everyday and tell me how awesome I am as a dad....no. I would do it because I love him. Would I tell him that I did this for him BUT...if he doesn't "accept" it then I am going to throw him to the creditors...no. Grace is something given even when undeserved...expecting NOTHING in return.
Keep coming back...it works if you work it....
