Unearned

I have been chasing after the mythical 4 plate squat for about 2 years now. I have tried it several times before, never with success. Through months (and months and months and months...) of hard work, I finally was able to squat it... for a double!

One of the things I love most about weightlifting and CrossFit is that they are very objective in the way you are rewarded. What I mean is that one way or another, hard work always pays off. It really is quite simple: if I work hard enough, and if I consistently give effort and do the things that I don't necessarily want to do (squat...), then I will reap the reward of my labor. The more dedication, focus, and effort I put into the work, the sweeter and more bountiful the fruit I yield. It is quite linear, and makes sense in my head, and that's what I like about it. You put in hard work, you get out results.

What is more difficult for me to understand is the way in which the Lord freely gives out His grace. In my head, what would make sense is a typical "if-then" situation: if I do good things, and if I try hard enough, then the Lord will give me grace. I operated out of this understanding of the dispensation of grace for the first 18 years of my life. It drove me to the point of attempting to become my own savior, leading to much frustration and guilt, and a perpetual feeling that I wasn't doing enough (probably because I wasn't!). I remember quite vividly the moment when that all changed- I was a senior in high school, and someone sat me down and explained to me that the Lord didn't love me because of the things I had to offer him, and that all of my works amounted to nothing before Him, but that His favor toward me was based not off of what I had done but rather what Christ had done. How free I felt in knowing that I no longer had to earn, but simply rest in the grace that was freely given to me. That though I had put in sin, rebellion, and disobedience, when I put my trust in Christ I got out grace.

Though I know this to be true of the Lord, and of His Gospel of Grace, I still oftentimes find my heart operating out of my former understanding. My guess is that many of you feel the same. Though we know and trust that Jesus died for all of our former sins, we still feel the need to atone for our current sins, as if His cross was not powerful enough. What we must cling to with unwavering faith is the reality that all of our sins, past, present, and future, were nailed to the cross, and that when He said, "it is finished" (John 19:30), He meant it. We can never hope to be our own savior, but must instead place our hope in the true Savior, Jesus our King. Remember what the apostle Paul said: "And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace" (Romans 11:6). Grace is unearned!

A favorite poem of mine, written by 18th century revivalist John Berridge, portrays this beautifully:

"Run, John, and work", the law commands,

yet gives me neither feet nor hands,

But sweeter news the gospel brings,

it bids me "fly" and gives me wings!

Blessings.