Grace requires nothing from us
When bad things happen, people ask what they have done to deserve them, and when good things happen when given favors, people ask the same questions because actions have consequences; over time, we have subconsciously learned this.
Good kids get gifts from Santa, and well-behaved kids get treats instead of tricks. Generous people are overwhelmed with gifts whenever they are celebrating, and so on. In a world where an arm only stretches when there is an already outstretched arm, grace requires nothing from us.
For, when we were yet sinners, Christ died for us
There are many things to unpack under the subject of grace. First? Why am I a sinner? Who made me a sinner? Fam, I am out here doing my best, and next thing, I am branded as a sinner. Well, just as we were born naked, we were born sinners. Adam and Eve sinned; like genes, they passed it down to us from generation to generation. It sucks, but it is what it is. However, here’s the good news, we have been redeemed.
We were born sinners, but we have been redeemed.
The blood of Christ has redeemed us. God saw man’s utter helplessness and came as man in the person of Jesus to pay the price of sin once and for all, and now, whosoever believes in the finished work of Christ can walk in his freedom.
Because God orchestrated and carried out our salvation, grace is a leveling ground; we all fall under one umbrella, “the ones in need of saving.” The misfits, the addicted, the goody two shoes, the saints and the aint’s, the prodigal son and the perfect son, there is room for everyone.
“Come as you are.”
This means that you can come as you are. You can come to God with all your flaws, and he will embrace and hold you up in his hands. Like the Samaritan woman with five husbands, like Zacchaeus, the dishonest tax collector, like the alabaster box woman. In the history of humanity, there is no one that stretched out arms to receive the love of the father that was not immediately scooped up, no matter how imperfect they were.
Because of this, people have often concluded that grace is unfair. But is it really? If we were all born sinners, does this not mean we all need saving? Does it matter what kind of sinners we were before the love of God found us?
In the bible, Jesus told a story in Matthew 20 of a man that owned a big field. Every time he went out and saw idle people, he invited them to his field to work for a specific rate. He had a fixed rate, so at the end of the day, he paid everyone the fixed rate as agreed, and something interesting happened. Those he hired first were unhappy that everyone got the same salary.
On the surface, they had a point, but let’s have a second look. None of them asked to be employed on the field, and the field owner honestly did not falter on his promise. Why did it matter so much that the late hires were also paid the fixed rate? Why does it matter that the prodigal son’s father killed a big, fat cow for the son who ran away? Why does it matter that there is no sin God cannot forgive?
There is nothing to be envious about. Instead, it is worthy of intense gratitude that grace requires nothing of us (all of us).
