Applying Grace
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(Rom 5:8)
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
In the parables examined, we begin to see the nature of God’s grace.
While God’s grace is an undeserved blessing, Jesus’ parable of the Hidden Treasure suggests that our response to grace is important (Matt 13:44). Much like a spiritual gift, a gracious blessing is of little use if we hide it away and make no use of it. It is like we have been given tomorrow’s stock report, but we neglect to purchase shares to take advantage of the insight.
Responding to God’s grace is important in understanding the Parable of the Lost Sheep. Lost sheep are more likely to be found if they listen for the shepherd’s voice. Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.” (John 10:14) As in the healing of the Ten Lepers, it is important to follow the shepherd’s instructions: “Go and show yourselves to the priest.” (Luke 17:14)
In the Parable of the Docter and the Sick, we find Jesus graciously treating sin as an illness (Luke 5:31-32). This re-imaging of sin removes sin’s guilt, the shame, and curse to heal our hearts and our relationships. This makes reformation and change possible.
The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man in Luke 16 displays grace in different contexts, both in life and in the after life. The fault of the rich man is that he failed to give thanks to God for his blessings in this life and fails then to prepare for the afterlife.
In the Parable of the Two Sons, we see God using grace to enable the prodigal son to find the error of his ways and grow to love his father. (Luke 15:11-32)
In each of these parables we see God using grace strategically to encourage, lead, and grow us in the context of relationship. This is not the cheap grace that Bonhoeffer (1995, 44-45) railed against. Rather, the picture that the parables and healing stories paint of grace is of an activist God who intervenes in our lives. Jesus’ God is not detached or aloof, like a puppeteer or a man behind the curtain. He is the caring father who attends all our performances—all our games, quietly watching and encouraging us to reach our potential.
Magnified Grace
The two most significant examples of God’s grace are our creation and salvation in Jesus Christ that took place long before our birth for which we cannot be said to be deserving.
While creation is often seen as an historical event in the distant past, it is also a personal event in our own lives. We are created male and female in God’s own image, an image now displayed in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Spiritual gifts are uniquely personal and they shape our destinies. We are not hatched in an incubator by a distant or non-existent deity, subject to random influences and forces. Our creation is one of God’s most gracious acts.
Our salvation through Jesus’ death on the cross is another undeserved act of God’s grace. The Apostle Paul says it best:
“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:6-8)
God’s sacrificial grace takes place in the context of relationship, because God does not leave us alone, but like sheep we need to recognize and follow the shepherd.
God’s grace is like rain that is easy to take for granted, but absolutely critical for life—especially if you are a farmer—and desperately missed when it is absent.
References
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. 1995. The Cost of Discipleship (Orig Pub 1937). Translated by R. H. Fuller and Irmgard Booth. New York: Simon & Schuster—A Touchstone Book.
Applying Grace
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:
Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com
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