Grace on the Curve

Whenever it came time to begin a new class in high school one of the big questions was, "Does the teacher grade on the curve?"

If the teacher graded on the curve I was pretty much guaranteed a "B" without even trying. Not because I was smart but because I was blessed with a good memory. After all, grades are not a function of intelligence so much as they are a function of memorization and the ability to follow directions. When your teacher grades on "the curve" you don't actually have to be good at the subject - you just have to be better at it than the person sitting next to you.

In life, I think we basically judge others on our own personal "curve". When we say someone is a "good person" we basically mean they are the moral and social equivalent of ourselves - because after all, aren't we good people?

When we say someone is "bad" we usually mean that they say and do things that we ourselves would not do. When we say someone is "really nice" it usually means that we see in them something that we ourselves do not possess - an extra measure of compassion, patience etc.

We judge our society on our own personal curve.

So what is grace? To understand that, we have to take a look at the difference between grace and forgiveness.

God does not judge on the curve. In fact, he doesn't hand out grades at all - he is strictly pass or fail. You lie? Fail. You cheat? Fail. You steal? Fail.

None of us can pass this ultimate class called life without forgiveness. Forgiveness means we have done something we shouldn't have done - we go to God in repentance (I am sorry - I will do my best to fix what I have done - I will try not to do it again in the future) and God gives us a do-over.

Forgiveness means that we don't get what we do deserve.

But grace? Ahhhh sweet grace . . .

Grace is when we do get something we don't deserve. The unmerited favor of God.

When the prodigal son returns home and the father welcomes him - that is forgiveness. When the father puts his robe on the son and kills the fattened calf - that is grace. (Luke 15:11-32)

That act of grace does not tell you anything about what type of person the prodigal son is - instead, it tells you what type of person the father is.

There is a refrain in one of the the songs on Annabelle's CD - "He doesn't love us 'cuz of who we are - only loves us 'cuz of who he is". God's love is a grace - it doesn't tell you anything about us - instead, it tells us about him.

No matter how you have calibrated your own personal "curve" or how you separate the "good" people from the "bad" in life - none of us deserve grace. And yet, at times in our lives, grace is given.

We don't deserve this.

Sure, I think that most people would rate the wife and I as "good people" - meaning better than some. A handful may even rate us on their personal curve as "really nice".

But this? This is grace. This is unmerited favor.

Like the story of the prodigal son, this whole project does not tell you anything about what type of people the wife and I are - instead, it tells you what type of people they are - Those who have given of their time, talents and treasure to extend grace to another.

I think most of the time as we go through life we are quick to pass judgement. We hold people up to our own personal set of standards and judge them as deserving or not deserving - of our time, our conversation, our help, our counsel . . .

But at times like this . . .
when we extend grace . . .
not because of who the other person is - deserving or otherwise. . .
but because of who we are . . .
who we want to be . . .

It is then . . .

That the world around us gets a glimpse of the face of God.

Thank you.

Your continued prayers are appreciated.