Thoughts of how awesome God’s grace is have been impressed on me again and again recently. This scripture came along with those impressions: Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
We often taste God’s grace in our daily lives! We have been saved so now we look forward with hope! Thank God for the grace to be what we are.
I have not always understood God’s Grace, or all of the parables of Jesus that He taught. For instance: In Matthew 20, Jesus told the parable of the workers in the vineyard. In the story, the workers were hired at three hour increments, 6 & 9 AM, 12 noon, 3 PM and then at 5:00 PM. At 6:00 P.M. everyone was paid, and they all received the same pay! The early workers were upset! Well, why not?
As a teenager, when I read that, it made me upset. I thought those early 6 A.M. workers were getting ripped off! I did not understand then that Jesus meant the pay was Salvation! All I knew was I would be jealous and upset, too!
At that time, I had felt that way about my granddad, who, in my eyes, had spent 95 years as a grumpy old man. I did not think he loved God or anyone. He made my Dad go to work at age seven to help support the family so he could have more time to go hunting. He was so jealous, he sprinkled flour on the ground around the back door so if there were footprints, he could tell if anyone had come to visit while he was gone!
Then, at age 96, he came to live with my parents. He saw their love and forgiveness and caring ways. They took him to worship with them. He listened and realized he had been wrong, so he obeyed the Lord, was baptized, and lived his last year in peace with God. With my nose in the air, I called him a last minute Christian — a “5:00 o’clock Christian!”
Because, well, I had decided to give my life to Jesus and was baptized when I was ten years old. All those years, I had tried to do what was right. I goofed up often. But I put up with people teasing me, making fun of me because of my beliefs. I used to think that maybe when I get to heaven, I will be wearing my Jesus jacket, carrying my Bible under my arm, proud of having been to a Christian college, and, unlike Grandpa, my name tag will read, “JOYCE —
6 A.M. in the morning Christian.”
Of course, when I get to heaven, I would want to see Mom and Dad right away, and they might say, “Well, that name tag is very nice. But, you know, we were persecuted a little, thrown out of the family when we converted from man-made religion. We had to struggle with no family, no education, no money to rear our six children. But it was worth it!”
Oh. Well. Thank God I was born into a Christian family. So, I guess when the junior class sent out invitations to their crawfish boil one year with BYOB printed on the bottom, and the coach yelled out in front of all the other teachers in the teacher’s lounge, “Hey Broyles, that doesn’t mean Bring Your Own Bible!” . . . . I guess that was not really persecution. Hmmmm. I think I will change my name tag to read “9 A.M. in the morning Christian.”
And then, as I am walking around heaven, maybe I will run into the apostle Paul, and he’ll say, “Welcome, 9 A.M. in the morning Christian!” We might exchange pleasantries, and he starts to tell me his story. “You know, once when I was shipwrecked, or maybe it was when I was beaten, or it might have been when I was in jail . . . .”
Oh! Oh my! My heart starts beating faster, and I realize that I am getting the same pay that the apostle Paul is! Oh! I am so humiliated. The vineyard owner promised a dollar a day and he gave it to everyone who worked. Jesus promises Salvation, and He will keep His promise. Duh!
I change my name tag again. Now I am a “12 o’clock noon Christian.”
Then as I keep walking, what if I meet Polycarp? He was a bishop from Smyrna, 200 years after Jesus, and he was martyred. He tells me, “My babies, wife and I were tied to stakes. The Roman proconsul said to denounce Christ, but I refused. I had to watch my family burn and then they burned me. But it was worth it.”
Oh! Oh my! Oh dear! With my head bowed, I realize that I am getting the same as Paul and Polycarp and all the faithful believers before me! I am a “5 o’clock P.M. Christian!”
Now, where once I was angry and jealous, now I know that the pay is Salvation! Now I am praying. “Oh God, forgive me! Forgive my haughty attitude, my pride! I’m in awe! I’ve caught a glimpse of your grace. Thank you for saving me! ”
And I remember, “For by grace you’ve been saved through faith, and this isn’t of your own doing; it’s the gift of God, not a result of your works, so that you can’t boast.”
What I am trying to say, is that, for me, the most awesome thing about God is that He saved me! Me, a worker in the vineyard, but with nothing to brag about. Praise God for His grace. Praise God for Jesus. That is what we all get — Just give us Jesus!
I pray that He will bless you and you also will find His grace awesome!
Joyce Broyles is a retired High School Library Teacher and resides in Jennings, LA.