My husband
and I have been learning a lot about the beauty of grace lately. This was
spurred by a book called “Jesus + Nothing = Everything” by Tullian Tchividjian.
This book
deals with the two “extreme” views on grace.
·
WORKS- One says “Yes, I believe that faith
in Jesus gets me into heaven, but my works help keep me there”.
·
CHEAP GRACE- The other says “Yes, I believe that
faith in Jesus gets me to heaven, grace covers all, so I choose to live however
I want, all will be forgiven”.
Sadly, this
is very representative of many Christians I’ve come into contact with.
Tullian
combats both views with the reminder that if we have a real knowledge of God’s
grace and the price that was paid by Jesus, we would not be in either position
above.
WORKS-- By deciding that “works” are
necessary for obtaining eternal life, you diminish the work of the cross. You
are essentially saying “Thanks for what you did Jesus, but I can take it from
here”. The purpose of the law was to drive us to Christ, so why do we strive to
go back to it, when it’s only a reminder of our INABILITY to achieve holiness.
CHEAP GRACE- If we live in the constant reminder
of God’s grace, we would not choose to “sin, so that grace may abound”. We
would desire to live a life that pleases the one we love and cherish a
relationship with. Why would we purposefully hurt Him/ourselves knowing the
detriment of the choices we make?
So what does
this mean daily?
Daily, I
will choose to live a life that pleases God. I will fail at times; I will
repent and then remind myself of His perfect covering. I will be free from
feeling like a guilty failure. I will
treat those around me, especially my husband, with grace. Understanding his
sinful nature is not worse than mine and needs grace just as much as me. I will
consistently be in awe and grateful to my Lord, for the work HE’S done, so that
I can be with Him in this life and the next. To HIM be the glory forever, amen!
These are my quick thoughts on about
a month’s time of pondering. I know this is a touchy and controversial subject,
but I would hope all responses would be done in the spirit of love.
