So lately I've been thinking a lot about the cross and just this whole concept of "saved by grace, through faith" that Paul talks about in the book of Ephesians. It's a very foundational concept to the Christian faith: one that I've been taught a lot and grown to experience and trust more and more. But it amazes me, as I reflect on my life, just how often I forget and lose sight of this fundamental truth. So often I find myself doing things in a way to try to earn God's favor and in a sense, make me appear "worthy" of His forgiveness and salvation.
Cause I mean, there has to be something in me that God has to see for Him to be so gracious to me. Doesn't there? What else would motivate Him to save me?
But already I'm beginning to contradict myself. I've already gone against the definition of grace. You see grace is undeserved favor or gift and by me trying to make myself appear "worthy" or "deserving" of God's favor, it wouldn't make it grace anymore.
So when Paul says that we are saved by grace through faith, he's saying that there is nothing in us that deserved His favor or salvation. There's nothing in me that I can point to, that I could take to God and say "here is why I'm deserving of your salvation." Cause even my best works are like filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6). And that's when I'm at my best…just imagine what my worst looks like to Him! We are all sinners and all fall far short from His glory. It's only by His grace that I've been saved.
And why did He save me? Because He loves me!! It's that simple…He loves me!!
But the thing that I try to do is give God a reason for Him loving me. For Him to favor me. Because maybe God loves me because of the things I'll do for Him. Maybe He thinks that if He died for me, then I would start living for Him and doing things for Him which would warrant His love.
But then I read the Bible and see just how wrong that mind-set is. So I said earlier that I've been reading over the accounts of Jesus' crucifixion lately and in it we see the purest form of His grace. In Luke 23, it recounts Jesus interaction with the robbers that were crucified with him. One began rebuking and mocking Jesus, but the other defended him, saying Jesus was not guilty of anything, but that they were. And then, looking at Jesus he says,
"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
Now what bases does he have for saying that? How would he ever think that Jesus would chose to remember him, a thief condemned to die? He couldn't turn to anything in his past that would convince Jesus to love him; we already can see what his past deserved: death. That's why he was hanging on the cross next to Jesus. Not only that, but there isn't anything that he could count on in his future for giving Jesus a reason to love and remember him. He was already on his death bed, waiting for his life to end. He didn't have time to change his behavior or what his life had become; he was out of time! But yet he still turned to Jesus and said,
"Remember me."
You see he knew that Jesus was a God of grace. And he knew that with grace, there was nothing he had done nor anything he could do that could warrant it. And you know how Jesus responded…
"Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise."
What? But Jesus, this man has done nothing to deserve your love and his life is ending so there's nothing he can do for you in the future. Why would you grant his plea?
Because the robber believed in an unconditional love that didn't depend on any actions he had done or could do; he believed in grace.
And that's what I want to believe in as well. I want to believe that just like there was nothing I did to deserve His love, grace and salvation at the cross, so there is nothing that I can do to make Him love me more (or less) even now! His grace covered me at the start of my walk with Christ and continues to cover me throughout my days.
"Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?" Galatians 3:3
I pray that I'll finish my journey with Christ just as I started: by His grace.
