My definition of grace has been the same for decades. Grace equals
unmerited favor. There is certainly truth in that statement but there
is so much more to this expansive gift from God. God's heart is
literally soaked in grace. Even as he dispenses such things as
judgement and wrath, grace remains intact. I have had plenty of time to
reflect on God's grace and how I both receive it and extend it. This
story impacted me.
During WWII a man died in battle and his two friends
desperately wanted to give him a decent burial. They found a cemetery in
a nearby bombed out village. It happened to be a Roman Catholic cemetery and the
dead man had been a Protestant. When the two friends found the priest in
charge of the burial grounds, they requested permission to bury their
friend, but the priest refused because the man had not been a Catholic.
When the priest saw their disappointment, he explained that they could
bury their friend immediately outside the fence. This was done. Later, they returned to visit the grave, but
couldn't find it. Their search led them back to the priest and, of
course, they asked him what had happened to the grave. The priest told
them that during the night he was unable to sleep. So he got up and
moved the fence to include the dead soldier. And so it is with God. He was not able to sleep
until He had made a way for the unlovely and unworthy to be included in
His gracious love. In point of fact, He not only moved the fence, He
actually destroyed the barrier into His holy presence. But He did so
through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and His cross. It is through
the crucified Christ, and Him alone, that we freely approach the Father.
God's grace is truly amazing and it saved a wretch like me. I finished a remarkable book by Jerry Sittser called A Grace Disguised. Upon conclusion, I feel the same way about my understanding of grace as I do about my grasp on astronomy when I stare into the sky on a clear night. It's overwhelming.
