Claiming Grace
Sometimes I cannot wrap my head around grace. Being able to receive it feels like trying to catch a firefly: I see it glistening in the darkness, and I long to capture it in my hands and call the beautiful thing my own, but just as I’m ready to close my fingers around it, it disappears.
Maybe you feel the same way. Like grace is desirable, but elusive. Lovely, but out of your reach. Amazing for some, but unattainable for you. It would be easy to just sit down in the darkness and give up on trying to claim it altogether. But what a tragedy that would be.
Because here’s the thing: without grace, we miss out on knowing Jesus. Without grace, it’s too difficult to draw near to him because we are painfully aware that he is perfect and we are not. Without grace, we sit up straight in his presence and try to say all the right things but only end up feeling unworthy and inadequate.
This is where we get into all sorts of trouble, because if we feel inadequate when we’re with Jesus, we’ll either stop spending time with him, or we’ll try even harder to be worthy of his time. Both options will leave us desperately empty.
So what are we to do, those of us who are reaching out toward grace but cannot seem to catch that elusive firefly between our fingertips?
Jesus’ teaching from Mark 10:13-16 can help us. In this story, people are bringing their children before Jesus so that he can lay his hands on them, but the disciples are trying to send them away. Perhaps they think that Jesus is too busy, or that the children are too silly or bothersome. But the scripture says that when Jesus realized what was happening, he was indignant. He said, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it” (CSB).
The kingdom of God is a gift that Jesus gives us through his grace. He tells us that we should receive it like a little child. Let’s think for a moment of a child receiving a gift. What do they do when someone places it in their hands? Do they hang their heads and refuse to open it because they don’t believe they deserve it? Do they apologize profusely for not having a gift to give in return? Do they insist on working until they feel they have earned it?
Of course not! They rip that thing open! They tear the paper off with sheer joy and anticipation, and then they run off to enjoy it immediately and completely. Jesus wants us to accept his grace in that way. It’s as if he’s saying to all of us do-ers and strivers and earners, “Just take it child! It’s yours! You don’t have to analyze it or earn it or even understand it completely. Just unwrap it with the excitement of a child, bubbling in fervor and anticipation. Expect it to be glorious and wondrous. Expect it to be what you’ve always wanted.”
When we go to Jesus, we may feel that we come up short. We may feel like we have to muster up the resources to make up for our shortcomings before we can approach him. But what makes grace so wondrous is that for every area we come up short, Jesus will make up the difference.
Do you know what happens in the story after the little children come to Jesus? He takes them in his arms, lays his hands on them, and blesses them (Mark 10:16, CSB). He doesn’t rebuke them or turn them away for coming to him empty-handed. He pulls them close and covers them in blessings.
And He’ll do the same for us. This is grace. It is sitting down with Jesus and finding that even when we come up short, his arms will span the distance we can’t cover. He is reaching out so he can hold us in his arms and cover us in blessings. He loves us and wants us to come to him, despite the flaws that we fear disqualify us from being worthy.
Grace is a gift. We cannot procure it ourselves, anymore than we can create a firefly and tell it to gleam for us. It is a divine mystery that we may not always understand, but it’s not something that we have to wait to open until we can completely wrap our heads around it. We can marvel at its beauty now. We can revel in the light that it brings to our darkness. We can run toward Jesus and trust that he will span any distances where we come up short. We can delight in the way it feels to be held by him, just as we are.
We can rip it open with all the eagerness of a little child who has just received a gift.
About the Author:
Deidre Braley is the author of The Second Cup, a blog focused on faith, parenting, and slowing down to savor life’s simple pleasures. She is also an elementary school teacher, wife, and mama. She enjoys watching her plants grow in the backyard garden, cooking for family and friends, and having nightly dance parties in the living room with her husband and little boy.
Find her on Instagram @deidressecondcup