Does it Matter if Someone "Deserves" Grace?

Our staff heard a beautiful story last week about members from a local church blessing Lisa, a young single mom from the ProGrace program. They gave her quite a lavish gift, paying several bills she was unable to pay. Lisa was giddy with joy when she received their gift, and God has used these folks and this unexpected provision greatly in her life. The person telling the story said that Lisa was a college graduate and had to give up a good job to take care of her young child, who had health conditions. And she quoted Lisa as saying, “I don’t want you to think I’m not trying.”

I hate to admit this, but even after two decades of my own grace journey, I can still sometimes default to thinking “God helps those who help themselves.”

Once I heard Lisa had worked hard to go to school and was trying to make ends meet, I felt better about her getting help. Once I decided she hadn’t “done” anything to be in her predicament, I had more compassion.

But wait, you may be thinking, she did do one thing to land in this situation; she got pregnant before getting married. Ah, there’s the rub. Because what is true for Lisa is true for all of us: we’ve all done things wrong or failed to do things right, and there is a natural law of sowing and reaping.

But the beauty of the Gospel is that the cross crashes into the natural law of sowing and reaping.

Jesus died so we can live, even though we deserve death. We deserve separation from God, and we deserve judgment. But there’s hope: through Christ we receive God’s blessings. We don’t actually get what we deserve because Jesus took that punishment instead. That’s mercy.

When we receive unmerited, unearned favor that we don’t deserve, more than we could ever count–that’s grace.

Lisa was blessed with provision right when she needed it. She didn’t earn the blessing through working hard, and she didn’t negate the blessing through doing things wrong. She got blessed because God loves her and her child, and prompted someone to give generously.

Do I believe the same thing for myself this week? How much of my stress as a mom or a friend or a nonprofit leader comes from thinking I have to get everything right? What if I actively believed I don’t earn all the blessings in my life by doing all the right things, and I can’t negate them by making a bad decision?

Once we realize we can never earn God’s favor, but have already been 100% accepted through the blood of Christ, it changes everything. It brings peace and confidence. It frees us from anxiety.

Grace motivates me to show God’s grace to everyone I meet, without asking or even caring if they deserve it.

This is what grace is all about. It’s unearned favor. It’s a beautiful picture of God’s lavish, abundant provision for our desperate needs (Gal. 3:10-14).

By Angie Weszely (@AngieWeszely)