Grace

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Corinthians 13:14).

There was once a class of schoolchildren who loved to go outside for recess. Their teacher was very generous—if the class had been well behaved and had finished their work, he would let them start recess a few minutes early. The class received this reward quite often; they were usually attentive and quick to finish their assignments.

But one day the class was having problems. Paper airplanes were flying. Hair was being pulled. Talking was nonstop, and homework was simply not getting done. Suddenly, the teacher called for everyone’s attention and said, "Time to go outside." Silence gripped the room as every student stared at the teacher in shock. He could almost hear what they were thinking: "Why are we being let out early? We don’t deserve to go out. We haven’t been paying attention; our work isn’t done." In answer to these unspoken words, the teacher said: "I want you to learn something from this. There are times in life when you are given gifts that you don’t deserve." With that, the students slowly walked outside, a bit confused and unsure about the new world they had just stepped into. For the very first time, some of these young people experienced what grace truly is. They were given a gift that had neither been earned nor deserved.

We were raised to believe that there’s no such thing as a ‘free lunch.’ If someone gives you a gift, they will expect to receive a gift of similar value; if someone does you a favor, they will eventually seek a favor from you in return. But God’s grace is not like that. God’s grace is a gift, pure and simple. Because of sin our souls were under Satan’s control, but because Jesus does not want to see us suffer in hell, He gave up His life on the cross so that we could belong to the family of heaven. What a gift! What a favor! How can we possibly repay Jesus for this great act of generosity? We can’t. Jesus Himself says, what can a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26) The answer is: nothing.

Thankfully, our Savior does not expect us to repay Him. Writing to Timothy, Paul tells us that God saved us, not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. Jesus makes only one demand of those He rescues—that you cling to Him alone as your passport into heaven. Yes, He wants us to turn our backs on sinful things, but this change in lifestyle does not in any way balance the scales for what Jesus suffered on the cross for us—only God’s grace guarantees us rest in the Savior’s arms.