Common Grace

"the rain falls on the just and the unjust." You may have heard this statement before and maybe even read it many times. BUT, have you really pondered it?

I have blogged recently about justice and how our culture has hijacked it's meaning and in doing so we have lost a very important ageless truth. Justice is the immutable law governing all of creation that we get what we deserve, and by deserve I mean in reference to what we have done. "We reap what we sow." However, our culture has redefined "deserve" to mean rights to benefits that society owes everyone, such as an education, food, and health care.

There are political and economic consequences to society that relate to this warped view of "deserve." This is very prevalent in our public discourse in this political season (which never ends btw). However, there is a much greater risk to missing the point of justice than our economics and public policy.

When we grasp that justice is an ageless truth and that we get what we deserve, what then do we do with those things we receive we don't deserve? This pic is of the stars and galaxies. We get to see them and wonder about them and we did nothing to have that privilege. What about the care we received as a small child? With some exceptions, most small children are given what they need by their parents just because they are the parents and love their children. the children did nothing to deserve it.

There are so many more examples of what is bestowed on us when we did nothing to get it, like the ocean and mountain views, rain for the crops, sunshine for a picnic, and so forth. How do we reconcile these gifts in a world where justice is required? By redefining justice for our own personal benefit, we miss the most amazing reality possible. We lose the awe and wonder of what is given to us, free and clear of any obligation.

The free gifts bestowed on everyone that has ever and will live without doing anything to deserve it is called common grace, unmerited favor. Without the true sense and awareness of being subjected to the laws of justice, we can never appreciate common grace.

When we cannot grasp the magnitude and awesomeness of common grace, we cannot receive the Saving Grace.

Now that's worth some pondering .....