Denver Church of Christ

Shortly after the end of World War II, an older Japanese friend - who was a young boy at the time - passed by an American military base close to his home and began digging through the garbage for food. He was with another little boy, and they were extremely hungry, hoping to find a few scraps discarded by the victorious Americans.

As they rummaged through the overfilled garbage cans, a soldier watched them from the window above. They didn’t notice him until he whistled down to them. At first they were frightened, but the man smiled and signaled for them to wait. When he returned to the window, he held out a bag full of food which he lowered down to the boys. My friend was stunned at this kindest of gestures, and he bowed countless times to thank the American soldier.

My friend was amazed that a man who had been an enemy just a few months earlier would give him a bag full of food. He never saw the soldier again but also never forgot his kindness. This experience left a deep impression on my friend who is now in his 70’s. For many years afterwards, until he came to church, he wondered why a former enemy could offer such a kind act of charity.

When Jesus Christ came to earth to show us his grace, we were his enemies (Rom 5:10).

There is no logic in a gift freely given, especially if that person does not deserve it at all. Sometimes we forget how amazing the grace of Jesus is and focus on the commitment, the sacrifices, and the obedience of our faith. All these elements are very important, but we must remember that they come in response to God’s grace. His redemption is meant to motivate us to want to give our best to our Lord, and was not meant to be earned by our good works.

Interestingly enough, I find that I lose my focus on God’s grace when I center my attention on “me”-the good deeds that I do, the sacrifices that I make, the sins that I commit, the weaknesses that I have. As a result, I feel good or bad about my walk with God based on these measurements of my life. God ceases to be the center and, consequently, I miss God’s grace.

When I decide to be humble and look only at God, I realize that there is nothing that I can do that would be sufficient enough to earn his grace. As I grow older, I see more and more clearly how much I need God’s grace in my life. No matter how hard I try to do the “right” things in my life, I always fall short. My husband and three children can attest to the fact that I am a completely imperfect person!

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9(NIV)

Grace is a part of God’s character and is manifested in his Son. It is the quality that sets God apart. Our Lord gives us free forgiveness with no conditions attached. Unlike the world, this free gift has no “hidden catch”. Yet, we Christians tend to tack on many obligations, thinking that it is a part of the package deal. We work hard and sacrifice beyond our abilities, believing that somehow we are becoming “worthy”. But we can never work hard enough to earn such a priceless gift.

We may theoretically understand this concept, but in practice, we too often miss the point: Salvation has nothing to do with our effort but everything to do with God’s mercy.

It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. Romans 9:16

When we truly understand that our salvation is totally of God’s doing and not our own, then we can extend the same grace to people around us. We stop being self-righteous, judgmental and critical of others. We have deep humility before the Lord and before others. And we learn to love more deeply with thankfulness in our hearts. Our worship, then, becomes a deep reverence to God through which we trust Him with our lives. Ultimately, we do not want to live a life of sin any longer.

Let us take time out again this week and re-examine his grace in our lives so that we may be renewed in our faith and our love for Him.