Learn to Float

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

Why is it so hard to understand grace? I believe it’s because grace is a balancing point between effort and effortlessness.
On the one hand, we need to do what’s right; That’s the LAW.
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 1 Corinthians 15:56

But... He’s offered us a free gift – a free pass into heaven – even if we don’t obey the law.
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 1 John 2

Huh? Is He allowing us to sin, or not? Why is God so confusing???
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17

Grace shouldn’t be so hard to understand. We use it with our kids all the time, and with our friends, and with our spouses. “Don’t do that,” we say. But the kids leave a mess all over the house anyway... or they pick their noses, or they refuse to do homework, or they stay out past curfew, or they...
Where was I? Oh, yeah. I’m a parent. I get mad, but I love my kids anyway. “Do it better next time, okay? You don’t want me to ground you; I don’t want to ground you.” But they disobey, again, and I ground them... again.
Why do I punish? Because I want them to learn. I want them to grow up to be good people. Because I love them.

So why should it be different with God? I don’t believe he punishes directly. (Read the book of Job.) But I do believe He gets angry with us, and He loves us. He can do both at once. It’s not such a stretch.
“Please forgive me,” you pray. “I’ll try harder next time. I really do mean it.” You don’t want to do it again, right? So, rely on grace. Go ahead.

In fact, if you’re a Christian, and you try to rely on the law to “save yourself,” you lose it.
You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. Galatians 5:4

There’s a line there somewhere. Cheap grace is wrong. (If you’re into a little heavy reading, try The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.) Abusing grace is like when an addict goes straight for a while to appease someone, but they don’t mean it... They’re only waiting for their next chance. That’s not real grace. And, come on... God knows if you mean to sin again or if you don’t.

Depending on God is like learning to float. You can’t do it if you thrash about. People drown that way. You can only float on the water if you relax.

God loves you. Depend on Him. Relax... That's it.. You’re experiencing grace.

Peace, love, & grace