“Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases” (Psalm 115:3).
Jeffrey Zaslow, in his book, Tell Me About It, recounts a vivid memory from childhood when his father coached a team of eight-year-olds. They didn’t win a single game all season. Zaslow said that in the last inning of the last game, his team was only down by one run. A boy who had never been able to hit the ball or catch it, for that matter, was up to bat with two outs. He surprised the world and got on base with a single. The next batter was the team slugger. Everyone was sure the team would finally get their first win. He drove the ball into the outfield. As the boy who got his first hit ran toward second base, he saw the outfielder’s throw coming straight toward him. Not knowing the rules of the game very well, he stopped and caught the ball bare-handed giving the opposing team the final out and the win. Quickly, the coach, Zaslow’s father, told the team to start cheering. Every kid stood up and clapped and ran toward the kid who had just blown the game. That kid didn’t know what he had done. All he knew was that he had hit the ball and caught the ball—both for the first time—and he felt like a hero with all the congratulations from his teammates. His parents knew the truth, though, and thanked Zaslow’s dad for what he had done. Their child had never gotten to play in a game before that day. Nobody ever told the boy exactly what happened, because they didn’t want to ruin it for him, and make him feel like a failure. Zaslow said, “Till this day, I’m proud of what my father did that afternoon” (https://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/g/grace.htm).
You know, grace, the twin gift to mercy, is, perhaps, the greatest gift of God to humanity. For, with grace, comes Jesus, the second Person of the Holy Trinity, slain on a cross for humanity’s sins, to make God’s forgiveness possible, to redeem humanity from the sure sentence of eternal damnation, and to guarantee to every human being who repents of their sin, believes in Jesus, and trusts Him as Lord and Savior of their lives, eternal salvation through faith in Him. Grace is a marvelous word and an even more amazing reality. Friend, as mercy is God’s withholding from us that which we do deserve as guilty sinners and rebels, grace is God giving to us what we do not deserve as guilty sinners and rebels. Sadly, the grace of God, whether it shows up at the doorstep through some miraculous work that is undeniably an act of God, or through a coach, or through the kindness and goodness of a neighbor or stranger who is moved by the Spirit of God, is out of sight and mind, ignored, I dare say, by the majority of people. For, in our desperately evil, selfish, individualistic, sinful, covetous world, a sordid sense of entitlement has taken root and enslaved a lion’s share of the population leaving them ignorant of the true nature of God’s grace. “I deserve this,” “I’m owed this,” and “I’m entitled to this,” are the mindsets and mantras of way too many people in the twenty-first century, especially in North America and Europe.
Hear God clearly from Isaiah 55:8: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways.” Consequently, we would do well to realize and accept that none of us deserve God’s grace. So, before we make the gross miscalculation of expecting grace, because we think ourselves worthy of it, deserving of it, or entitled to it, let’s remember that regardless of the exaggerated opinions we might hold of ourselves, God knows the truth about us. He knows our secret thoughts, selfish appetites, and prideful conversations with self. God knows our secret sins and public sins. He knows what we hide or try to hide from everyone else.
Moreover, God does not check with us beforehand to get our input or agreement or permission before He shows grace to other people. Before we arrogantly murmur against others whom we feel are not worthy of grace, let’s remember that our harsh judgments are sins against them and against our holy God. One of my childhood lessons learned at the foot of my father is indelibly etched into my mind: “Son,” Dad said, “Every time you point your finger at someone else, you have three pointing back at you.” Let’s remember that God doesn’t want or need our permission to bless others with His grace, and let’s live before our ever-watching Creator with deep humility, thorough self-reflection, and sacrificial love for others.
Friends, the truth is that neither the millionaire or the moocher or anyone in between deserves God’s grace. No one is owed God’s grace. No one deserves God’s grace. No one is entitled to God’s grace. We all deserve the harshest judgment and fiercest wrath of God poured out upon us now and for all eternity. For we truly have sinned against our holy God. Romans 6:23 tells us, “The wages of sin is death,” meaning, eternal punishment in Hell. Hebrews 10:26-27 warns us, “If we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.” These truths are all the more reason to make sure we understand grace from God’s perspective rather than from our own selfish mindset. Never forget that God rules and reigns over the whole earth and over every person who lives. The Holy Spirit told Paul to write down for all generations in Romans 9:18: “[God] has mercy on whom He desires.” As the psalmist says in Psalm 115:3, “Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.”
So, the only right response to grace poured into our lives and showered into the lives of others from Heaven is quiet humility, outright astonishment, infinite gratitude, merciful benevolence, sacrificial service, and heartfelt worship to our gracious Heavenly Father.