UnDebtedness

When I jump in the air, propulsion generated by my efforts pushes me upwards. Gravity, by the infinite wisdom of God, pulls me downwards. We call these opposing or opposite forces. Not all forces come in opposing pairs, but those that do fascinate us. Motion and friction make another example pair. However, do we ever think about the fact that in the spiritual world debt and grace are opposing forces?

After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. - 1 Peter 5:10

We often think of God's grace, and a good working definition of it I have always known is 'unmerited favor'. But what's a good working definition of unmerited favor? Reflect for a moment on where we were before salvation. Sin is anything done in disobedience of God's moral will. The wage of sin is death (Romans 6:23). The death referred to here is eternity in hell, which means eternal suffering and torment separated from the presence of God. The debt we owe God because of sin mars us (Romans 3:23), denies us a connection with God (Ephesians 4:30 - it literally pains Him), kills us spiritually (James 1:15), and removes us from God's presence in the end.

But, in this verse from Peter, we see grace doing the opposite. If we wait on the God of all grace - charis, by the way (we'll get to that in a second) - then He will perfect us (according to His design), confirm us (Galatians 4:6 - God becomes our Father), strengthen us (Isaiah 40:31), and establish us as members of his people (Philippians 3:20). Literally grace takes us in the opposite direction of debt. Additionally, grace is the very opposite of death. Charis isn't itself an act, it's an attitude: a person or being of charis acts joyfully and takes pleasure in acting this way towards others. God sent His only son because He would have it that none would perish because of the debt of sin (2 Peter 3:9), but He lavishes His grace on us, should we choose it, freely and joyfully.

We often think of grace as God's response to our grace, but that wouldn't be unmerited. Then our debt would merit a response other than punishment and grace would count as that merited response. That's not God's system. Grace, given joyfully and to His pleasure, opposes the power of our spiritual debt and brings us in the opposite direction.

May God remind you of His astounding grace today. May you realize that grace is moving you further and further out of darkness into light. As time passes, may we all learn to grant grace instead of demanding debt of others. May we learn how to help others out of the dark of debt and into the joyful place of grace. Amen.