This is Amazing Grace

You’ve heard about Grace. Whether that is from knowing someone named Grace or from reading something like St. Augustine’s Confessions, we, as Christians, hear this word constantly. We hear Grace being mentioned in our churches, by the street corner preachers, or maybe roll call in first grade, no matter where you are, you will hear Grace be mentioned. But for all this talk about Grace, it seems like we don’t always have a clear understanding of it. Is Grace just some celestial mercy, or is it earthly perpetual forgiveness. I think it has to be the former, and that being said, I predict most of us won’t experience Grace in this life. That’s not to say we won’t experience it, I just don’t think it comes in this life. Jesus himself never actually mentions grace in the Bible. However, if we look to Ephesians we see something interesting: “For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8 NET). We are saved by Grace. I don’t think we can view Grace as something of this world. I think the only way we can view Grace is as something that allows us to be with God forever. And while God may answer our prayers for forgiveness and pardon, I don’t think that this is Grace. We too often confuse the splendor of the world to be equal to the splendor of Heaven, and it’s dangerous to think of those two qualities as equals. Usually, when we think of things of the world compared to those of Heaven, we think of material goods, but there’s more to it than that. We mistake miracles for an event that requires God’s devoted power. I don’t think that’s the case. God can fix this world with ease. So if Grace is mentioned as this powerful device of God, I don’t think it deals with this world. Yet this doesn’t make Grace less meaningful, in fact, I think the celestial bounds of Grace make it even more sanctified. It’s easy to see this when we try to wrap our minds around how hard it would be to forgive someone for all of their wrongdoings. In the Bible, we see the 7 x 70 parable. When Jesus tells Peter that you must forgive your brother not 7 times, but 70 x 7, he’s probably not talking about forgiving your brother 490 times. I know I’ve sinned against my brother at least 491 times, but I know Jesus would be disappointed if my brother didn’t forgive me, or didn’t turn the other cheek the 492nd time. And if you’re reading this, chances are you’ve had someone wrong you countless times. Think about how hard it can be to forgive. Grace isn’t about forgiving the big sins of your life. Grace is about forgiving every sin. This is not an easily performed action. In fact, it’s probably impossible for mankind to have that great a capacity for forgiveness. Luckily, we have a powerful god on our side. There’s an old hymn called Jesus Paid It All that I think simplifies His role really well. Look at the first few lines:






I hear the Savior say,


"Thy strength indeed is small,


Child of weakness, watch and pray,


Find in Me thine all in all."






Jesus paid it all,


All to Him I owe;


Sin had left a crimson stain,


He washed it white as snow.










Sin had left a Crimson stain, He washed it white as snow. This same idea is echoed in Isaiah 1:18, where it says:


“Come, let’s consider your options,” says the LORD. “Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become white like snow; though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet, you can become white like wool(NET).”









As someone who has been a child, I’ve made pretty big stains before. My mom, a very good Jesus impersonator, can get stains out fairly well. In fact, I would say that my mom could get out most stains. But think about those stains you made as a child. Think about the stains that no matter how hard you scrubbed, no matter how much soap or seltzer or bleach you applied, the stain never went away. We all have had these stains. Did you tell your parents about it? Did you try to cover it up? Odds are, no matter how well you think you got the stain out, your parents still found out. God knows about all of your sins, but when the time comes for Him to cleanse us, he won’t leave any trace of grape juice in the shag carpet. He takes away all of your sins. There’s nothing left of your past life, which is so unlike this world. CS Lewis said it best when he said, “and the blessed will say we have never lived anywhere except in Heaven(The Great Divorce).” When you look at your carpet you will always be able to point out where the stain was, no matter how much effort you put in to remove the stain. God does not work like that. One of the few things I know is that when God looks at you, he will know that you are perfect. He will love you like you didn’t think was possible. This is Grace.