This thing of Grace.

This Grace. This Grace.

This thing of Grace.

The topic of grace has been weighing heavily on my heart lately. Maybe it has to do with the Easter season we just had, maybe it has to do with what’s on my plate right now, maybe it has to do with the Scripture I’m currently studying. Either way, God’s giving me an entire course on this thing of grace.

I’ll be honest, it’s kind of a hard thing to wrap my head around because it’s tricky and doesn’t make any sense. You see, grace isn’t fair. Grace isn’t logical.

That’s why it’s called grace. We don’t deserve it, we can’t earn it, and we most certainly can’t ever buy it. So why does He give us grace?

Put simply, He’s God and can do whatever He wants. But seriously, He really can. His grace is because of an immense love, one beyond words could describe. You could spend the rest of your life questioning why He chose you for something, and may never fully know the answer.

In short, the cross.

Someone once explained the difference between mercy and grace in the form of a speeding car. Though I know that we all always follow the speed limit and my nickname is not Lead Foot.... let’s just use it as an example.

Mercy is when a cop pulls you over for speeding and instead of giving you a ticket, he lets you go. Grace is when the cop pulls you over for speeding, and hands you $2,000. No ticket, just $2,000. It doesn’t make sense, and I know that if someone handed me $2,000 when I really deserved a ticket, I’d be questioning if he was in his right mind. Mercy is something that's taken away, while grace is something that is given.

Grace is when Peter denies Jesus three times, and less than three months later, Peter gives the first sermon (John 18:15-27 and Acts 2:14-36). Grace is when the people of Israel were saved from slavery (Exodus 6:6). Grace is when Paul, on a mission to kill Christians, was changed and later witnessed the risen Christ (Acts 9:1-19). Grace is when you’re in a manipulating relationship that really messes you up and a year later, you are restored and not only have a testimony that can help others, but can tell it without feeling any pain.

I’m a nerd, and I’m totally willing to work for my grade. There’s one teacher I have this semester that really makes you work extremely hard for your grade, so when I got an ‘A’ on that paper I slaved over, I felt like I earned it.

Grace doesn’t work that way. Think of the worst thing you’ve done. Something you deserve to face consequences for and live with for the rest of your life.

This is when Jesus steps in and says, “I got this.”

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

-       Ephesians 2:8-10

That’s a grade we’ll never deserve.

The verse before that, verse 7, talks of the incomparable riches of His grace. Much more than what could be bought with $2,000. Seems too good to be true, right? Wrong. After all, incomparable riches don’t always have to be logical when it’s fueled by a love that words can’t explain.

I think I’m finally beginning to make sense of this illogical thing called grace.

This Grace.

This Grace.

This thing of Grace.

This thing of amazing Grace.