Meditations on Grace

The Greek word translated grace is charis. It shows up 12 times in Ephesians, 18 times in 2 Corinthians, and 22 times in Romans. As I attempted to write out a succinct meaning of the term, I was struck by the complexity of the ways it is used in Scripture. In short, it means loving-kindness, favor, or gift. But I’m afraid those three words don’t really plumb the depths of how Scripture uses it.

I looked up grace in Hebrew, Greek, and English dictionaries. Each gave really long definitions from multiple angles. But the common thread in each use of the term is that it is NOT about giving what is due. Consider these verses using the Greek word charis.

Romans 4:4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.

Luke 6 32"If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

When you give back what is earned or deserved, it is not charis—it is not grace. It is not favor or benefit and it is not credited toward you as anything other than exactly what you are expected to do. Instead, grace does what is unexpected, undeserved, and out of line with reasonable responses. Grace is an unreasonable response—unreasonably good, but unreasonable nonetheless. And when we give grace, this undeserving favor that does good to enemies and lends expecting nothing in return, then we give evidence to our relationship with our Father in heaven, because THIS is his calling card. He is good to those who don’t deserve it. He is full of grace.

Grace is one of the most often used words in Christian circles. I learned the acronym for grace, “God’s riches at Christ’s expense,” in Sunday school as a child. But I didn’t get grace. I understood that I didn’t earn my salvation, but my response was to start trying to earn it from that point on. If God was that good to me, then I needed to start being a better person so that I could pay him back a bit. But Jesus in Luke 6 sets a different criteria altogether to evidence our understanding of grace—our grace toward others.

Grace and humility are intertwined theological concepts. When we get grace, the only choice is humility. In Christian circles, we sometimes mistake other virtues for grace and humility. I know some Christian leaders who are diplomatic. Or maybe generally friendly. Or polite. But these are not the same as grace and the humility that follows it. Grace is an unreasonably lavish response to those undeserving of it. And it is based on our own understanding of God’s great, undeserved favor toward us. I am examining myself to make sure I don’t mistake personal politeness or good manners for this altogether different thing named grace to which God has called us.

I am looking forward to reading Prodigal God by Tim Keller, which uses the parable of the Prodigal Son to explore the depth of God's grace.