I’ve been thinking on this quite a bit lately.

There are many ways in which I could be an opponent of God’s grace.

1. Anytime I feel like I am doing something good or right that will therefore cause me to feel more worthy.
2. When I compare myself to those that are doing “worse” than me, and feel better about myself, my righteousness, and a little more deserving of God’s love for me.
3. When I compare myself to those that are doing “better” than me, and feel awful and undeserving of God’s love.
4. When I wallow in self-pity and depression, which is really a form of pride.
5. When I revel in my accomplishments to the point of taking full credit.
6. When I trust in perceived merit by focusing on works - being good, worthy, spiritual, obedient, etc.
7. Not truly believing in God’s steadfast love for me, even during times that I am rebellious or disobedient.
8. When, during times of trial, I’m wanting to know “why” or question God’s love and care for me.

There are plenty more, and I ‘m sure you could think of some of your own.  Feel free to do so in the comments!

So many times, I do the above things and then think “Ooops, I shouldn’t be heading this way”.

But it really takes on a whole new meaning when I understand that in doing so I am not only thinking erroneously, but I am, in fact, an opponent of God’s grace.

Mull on that for a minute.

I think often it’s easy to say, ‘Yes, I am forgiven and cleansed through the blood of Christ, and I fully trust in the atoning, finished work of Christ. I am saved by grace.”

And yet, every time I do any one of the above things I listed, my actions and thoughts are in contradiction to that statement.

Grace.

It is at once a beautiful, awesome word and a horrible, unbelievable word.

Beautiful and awesome - because I can know that grace is a gift, totally undeserved and freely given to me.  Hallelujah!  What unspeakable joy to think that God the Father sent the Son to die for me, when my sin and the justice of God dictated that I should indeed die and face eternal hell.  Jesus took my sins upon himself and paid the penalty.  Fully.

Horrible and unbelievable - because it goes against the inner, sinful desire to somehow believe that I am a good person.  Part of me likes to think that God saw something in me, a soft heart maybe, and yearned for me to call out to him.  It’s easy to want to believe this great lie!

I cannot wrap my mind around grace, because I tend to think of love in human terms and capabilities.  But God’s love and mercy cannot be compared to ours, and doing so is a grave disservice to who He is.

Part One is here.  Part Two is here.

Tags: Christianity, religion, spirituality, worldview