17 The law indeed was given through Moses;
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
John 1:17
The third cornerstone of the Protestant Reformation is based on the idea of grace. We talk about unconditional love when we think of another important person – to us anyway – loving us when our hair is messy, when we flub up, and when we forget. As I reflect on my years of marriage and that my husband did indeed stick with me on good days and bad, on fat days and thin, during child birth – times when I did not feel “loveable” but ugly, I realize what an undeserved gift that was. It was unconditional love but it was also an undeserved gift. Grace, to me, is God reaching out to me while I was yet a sinner. The thief on the cross had nothing to offer Jesus but the plea, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus responded, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” We are saved because of the cross and not because of our own merit or borrowed merit from some other saint or holy being.
As I have pondered just how to explain what the cross means, I have come to express it as Jesus walking through death to show me that nothing can separate me from God. God does not force us to choose the kingdom of heaven but it is there for us as a gift. It is grace, not works. It is grace, not merit. I cannot pay forward enough for the snarky remarks, the periods of doubt, and the selfish deeds I am most likely going to do in the future. I cannot climb or work my way up some ladder to heaven. I must humble myself and acknowledge God as creator and myself as creation, needing his help. I need mercy and grace.
I love the prayer of the man who brought his son to Jesus’ disciples to be cured of an evil spirit that threw him into the fire. The disciples were defeated but Jesus came down from the Mount of Transfiguration and prayed for the boy. The father cried, “I believe, help though my unbelief!” God gives and saves from a heart of love and I bow my head and receive.
Perhaps there is an area of your life today where you feel defeated. Let us bow our heads in gratitude for God’s grace that is dealing with our dilemma even as we pray. Thank you, Lord.
On the Way to Wonder 