“Grace, it’s not just unmerited favor. It’s unmerited favor that is first and foremost forwarding a cause greater than we could ever understand.”

I’m not sure how many times grace has been defined to me, but I assure you it’s been hashed and rehashed several times. I think most of us have a pretty good grasp on the dictionary definition, being an undeserved gift, favor. Yes, you’ve been given a gift you could never earn, but nonetheless, one that has your name on it. But, the point of the gift wasn’t for your enjoyment. It really wasn’t for you in the grand scheme of things. The big picture reason for grace is that it forwards God’s plan that is already in action. Because it brings Him joy, He gives us grace to bring us joy. Grace is much bigger than us.

Big grace

Grace must inherently be bigger than us. If it is not, then our faith merely equates to self-glorification or self-worship. Spirituality is nothing more than a race to see who can climb higher on the totem pole of self-fulfillment. No, grace is from a God too big for any to comprehend, to a people who could never repay. Grace is not a debt. Once again, it’s bigger than you, it’s bigger than simple recompense. We have been given a gift from a God who’s infinite, shouldn’t the value of this gift, if the Giver is truly benevolent, be of a similar magnitude? Shouldn’t this gift be priceless? And if this gift is priceless, of infinite worth, how can mere mortals assume the full value is for their benefit alone? No, grace must be meant for more.

We deny grace

The grace we were given was declared complete by Jesus Himself, yet we act to the contrary. We fall short and we try to make up for it. We subscribe to various religious acts in the hopes that God is watching our piety, noting the deposits into our spiritual bank accounts. We write “grace” on a flag and wave it brazenly as we run headlong through the no man’s land of licentiousness. In each of these scenarios, we deny what grace truly is and how valuable a gift we were given freely.

Grace is a paradox

Grace is for each individually, yet it is at the same time for God alone. On the micro level, God has given each of us a gift individualized perfectly for who He made us. On the macro level, grace is God showing there is none greater, more caring, loving. It is God’s joy to bring us joy through the lavish gift of grace.

Grace is the crux of the Christian faith, but we often get confused in its purpose as a result of our individualistic culture. Grace is meant to bring us joy individually. But, it’s so much bigger than this. Grace isn’t about us. Grace is about turning all our heads upwards and bringing joy and recognition to the Giver, its source. Grace is too valuable a gift to be solely purposed for our mere enjoyment or benefit. Grace is too big for us, but like clothes too big for an infant, it gives us room to grow into it. And grow we will continue to do all the days of our lives. Thank You, Father.