Some Christian traditions speak of the means of grace, those ways God has provided for us to be put in touch with the grace that is always there. This is my favorite language for thinking about such practices, as it emphasizes God’s agency over our own and the fact that God has promised to make grace available to us in the ordinary things of daily life. It also reminds us that we do not engage in Christian practice to earn our salvation, because that salvation is already given in Christ.
