In a world measured by human performance, grace doesn’t make sense. One worse. Grace not only doesn’t make sense, grace gets the hard cases and rejects. Grace is the condescending act the powerful bestow on the failures, or grace is the self-consolation of those who are broken and hurting.
When success is judged based on the quality and quantity of performance, grace gets the leftovers. Grace is only good for losses and losers. Grace isn’t needed and doesn’t come into play until we are talking about failure and loss. Only the weak need help. Only the lost need a savior. Only sin needs forgiveness.
There is another way to look at grace. This way of looking at grace frames things around God rather than around a performance-based world. Most people enter a grace framework through the utter crappiness of their life circumstances. Whether it is through their own character and actions, or the character and actions of people around them, grace most often confronts and gently invades the lives of those who are hurting.
But this is not the only way. Grace can operate in a more thorough and holistic way. The Bible talks about grace in a very different way. Grace can lift up the brokenhearted and downtrodden and poor. And grace can humble and ground the proud and rich and sure. (See Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel. See also James 1:9-11.) God speaks graciously to poor and rich alike, “You are so much more than your money.” Grace can speak to the weak and strong alike, “God is so much more than your strength.” Grace can speak to sick and well alike, “There is more to life than life itself.”
Reflection Questions
- What is grace for? Who are the people and situations grace is for?
- Who is immune to grace? Where is grace powerless or useless?
- What is the purpose of grace? What is the point?