Grace.  Any Christ follower can tell you about grace.  I grew up on a pew in my grandfather’s church and even as a little girl, could spout the words to Amazing Grace with the rest of them.  It’s funny, I remember singing about grace, but I never remember hearing about grace.

I’m slowly but surely starting to see the “real” Him…not the God of my legalistic upbringing.  You know the one right?  The God who stands ready to strike us down at any minute.  The God who won’t let us into Heaven if we have even one iota of sin in our hearts.  The God who won’t allow secular music or the occasional glass of wine.  The God of rule books and regulations.  I could go on and even talk about how God frowns upon women wearing pants in the church-unless it was a Wednesday night.  Then a nice pair of slacks or (Heaven help us) culottes were allowed.  I shake my head as I type….no wonder I grew up afraid of God.  No wonder I still struggle with grace.

The dangerous part of a legalistic religion is we are led to believe we somehow play a role in our own salvation.  The Bible tells us we are pardoned by the blood of Christ.  But the “rules” tell us we must earn our freedom.  Maybe it’s never said out loud…but the undertones are there.  And we become like prisoners doing “time.”  We must do the right thing, say the right thing, wear the right thing, etc. in order to atone for our mistakes.  We must be on our best behavior at all times, read the Bible for at least 20 minutes a day and spend as much time as we can in prayer.  Then, then maybe the eyes of God will smile in approval at all of our righteousness.

The word grace is translated into the Greek word “charis” and is defined as “a gift or blessing brought to man by Jesus Christ.”  (Strong’s)  A gift.  A blessing.  The word “gift” is defined as “a thing given willingly to someone without payment.”  Did you catch that my friend?  Without payment.

Ephesians 2:8 NIV
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”  (italics mine)

Let’s all take a deep breath together as we let go of our need to prove ourselves to our Heavenly Father.  We have already been found worthy by the blood of Jesus.  He was the spotless Lamb who took every bit of our sin and shame and nailed it to the cross.  He rose from the dead, but left the law in the grave.  So, maybe-maybe we can relax a bit.  And suddenly, those “requirements” become privileges, born out of the overflow of a joyous, grateful and grace-full heart.