G is for Grace

Grace. It's a word most of us hear a lot but many of us do not fully understand. It has a lot to do with the atonement and Christ's charity for us. By definition, grace is "divine means of help or strength" and it is "given through the bounteous mercy of Jesus Christ" (Bible Dictionary "Grace").

In order to fully understand grace, we must understand what mercy means because mercy is part of grace. As found in the Webster's Dictionary, mercy has three definitions: "1. A kind and gentle treatment of a wrong doer or some unfortunate person. 2. A kind, sympathetic disposition; willingness to forgive, spare or help 3. A blessing as an act of divine love." So grace is Christ having great compassion and love for each of us.

To further our understanding of grace, we must also understand that there are three main parts of the grace of our Savior. The first is that through His grace, we will be resurrected. This means that after we die, our bodies will be reunited with our spirit once more, never to be separated again (see Alma 11:45 and Bible Dictionary "Grace") Second, through grace, the atonement, and repentance, we will receive "strength and assistance to do good works that [we] otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to [our] own means." (Bible Dictionary "Grace"). Third, grace allows us to gain eternal life, which means we get to live with God and our families forever (see Bible Dictionary "Grace" and http://mormon.org/values/family)

These two explanations further our understanding of grace and how we are fully dependent on it. However, this all might just be sounding like a bunch of words to you my dear reader. Allow me to illustrate grace with a parable, or a story. There's something about parables that make things just resonate with us more. Jesus Christ, the Master Teacher, showed us this by using parables constantly throughout His earthly ministry. The parable I found for grace goes as follows:

"Christ’s arrangement with us is similar to a mom providing music lessons for her child. Mom pays the piano teacher. Because Mom pays the debt in full, she can turn to her child and ask for something. What is it? Practice! Does the child’s practice pay the piano teacher? No. Does the child’s practice repay Mom for paying the piano teacher? No. Practicing is how the child shows appreciation for Mom’s incredible gift. It is how he takes advantage of the amazing opportunity Mom is giving him to live his life at a higher level. Mom’s joy is found not in getting repaid but in seeing her gift used—seeing her child improve. And so she continues to call for practice, practice, practice.

If the child sees Mom’s requirement of practice as being too overbearing ('Gosh, Mom, why do I need to practice? None of the other kids have to practice! I’m just going to be a professional baseball player anyway!'), perhaps it is because he doesn’t yet see with Mom’s eyes. He doesn’t see how much better his life could be if he would choose to live on a higher plane.

In the same way, because Jesus has paid justice, He can now turn to us and say: 'Follow me' (Matthew 4:19); “Keep my commandments” (John 14:15). If we see His requirements as being way too much to ask, maybe it is because we do not yet see through Christ’s eyes. We have not yet comprehended what He is trying to make of us.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has said, 'The repenting sinner must suffer for his sins, but this suffering has a different purpose than punishment or payment. Its purpose is change' (The Lord’s Way [1991], 223; emphasis in original). Let’s put that in terms of the child pianist: The child must practice the piano, but this practice has a different purpose than punishment or payment. Its purpose is change...

 'But don’t you realize how hard it is to practice? I’m just not very good at the piano. I hit a lot of wrong notes. It takes me forever to get it right.' Now wait. Isn’t that all part of the learning process? When a young pianist hits a wrong note, we don’t say he is not worthy to keep practicing. We don’t expect him to be flawless. We just expect him to keep trying. Perfection may be his ultimate goal, but for now we can be content with progress in the right direction. Why is this perspective so easy to see in the context of learning piano but so hard to see in the context of learning heaven?

There should never be just two options: perfection or giving up. When learning the piano, are the only options performing at Carnegie Hall or quitting? No. Growth and development take time. Learning takes time. When we understand grace, we understand that God is long-suffering, that change is a process, and that repentance is a pattern in our lives. When we understand grace, we understand that the blessings of Christ’s Atonement are continuous and His strength is perfect in our weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:9). When we understand grace, we can, as it says in the Doctrine and Covenants, 'continue in patience until [we] are perfected' (D&C 67:13).

Grace is not a booster engine that kicks in once our fuel supply is exhausted. Rather, it is our constant energy source. It is not the light at the end of the tunnel but the light that moves us through the tunnel. Grace is not achieved somewhere down the road. It is received right here and right now." (Brad Wilcox "His Grace is Sufficient")

So you see, grace is a part of our lives every day. It's not something we're waiting to receive, rather it's something we are constantly receiving. In the words of Stephen E. Robinson: "By his grace, we live and breathe. By grace, we are spiritually begotten children of heavenly parents...By grace, a plan was prepared and a savior designated for humanity when Adam and Eve fell. By grace, the good news comes...and by grace we have the agency to accept it by grace that comes through faith in Christ, we start the repentance process; and by grace we are justified and made part of God's kingdom even while the process is still incomplete. The grace of God has been involved in our spiritual progress from the beginning and will be involved in our progress until the end. It therefore belittles God's grace to think of it as only a cherry added at the last moment as a mere finishing touch to what we have already accomplished on our own without any help from God. Instead the reverse would be a truer proposition: Our efforts are the cherry on top added to all that God had already done for us." ("Believing Christ": by Stephen E Robinson, May 1993).

It is by and through grace that all things are possible and gives us the strength to endure to the end and hope that we can return to our Father in Heaven once more.