By Brad Wilcox
From a devotional address given at Brigham Young University on July
12, 2011. For the full address, visit speeches.byu.edu.
How does God's grace really work?
A young woman once came to me and asked if we could talk. I said, "Of
course. How can I help you?"
She said, "I just don't get grace."
I responded, "What is it that you don't understand?"
She said, "I know I need to do my best, and then Jesus does the rest,
but I can't even do my best."
I said, "The truth is, Jesus paid our debt in full. He didn't pay it
all except for a few coins. He paid it all. It is finished."
She said, "Right! Like I don't have to do anything?"
"Oh, no," I said, "you have plenty to do, but it is not to pay that
debt. We will all be resurrected. We will all go back to God's
presence to be judged. What is left to be determined by our obedience
is how comfortable we plan to be in God's presence and what degree of
glory we plan on receiving."
Christ asks us to show faith in Him, repent, make and keep covenants,
receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. By complying, we are
not paying the demands of justice--not even the smallest part.
Instead, we are showing appreciation for what Jesus Christ did by
using it to live a life like His. Justice requires immediate
perfection or a punishment when we fall short. Because Jesus took that
punishment, He can offer us the chance for ultimate perfection (see
Matthew 5:48; 3 Nephi 12:48) and help us reach that goal. He can
forgive what justice never could, and He can turn to us now with His
own set of requirements (see 3 Nephi 28:35).
Grace Transforms Us
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.
The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can live after we die
but that we can live more abundantly (see John 10:10). The miracle of
the Atonement is not just that we can be cleansed and consoled but
that we can be transformed (see Romans 8). Scriptures make it clear
that no unclean thing can dwell with God (see Alma 40:26), but no
unchanged thing will even want to.
The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can go home but
that--miraculously--we can feel at home there. If Heavenly Father and
His Son did not require faith and repentance, then there would be no
desire to change. Think of your friends and family members who have
chosen to live without faith and without repentance. They don't want
to change. They are not trying to abandon sin and become comfortable
with God. Rather, they are trying to abandon God and become
comfortable with sin. If the Father and the Son did not require
covenants and bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost, then there would be
no way to change. We would be left forever with only willpower, with
no access to His power. If Heavenly Father and His Son did not require
endurance to the end, then there would be no internalization of those
changes over time. They would forever be surface and cosmetic rather
than sinking inside us and becoming part of us--part of who we are.
Put simply, if Jesus didn't require practice, then we would never
become Saints.
Detail from Christ and the Rich Young Ruler, by Heinrich Hofmann,
courtesy of C. Harrison Conroy Co.; background iStockphoto/Thinkstock
Grace Helps Us
"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?
Too many are giving up on the Church because they are tired of
constantly feeling like they are falling short. They have tried in the
past, but they continually feel like they are just not good enough.
They don't understand grace.
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.
Grace Is Sufficient
The grace of Christ is sufficient (see Ether 12:27; D&C
17:8)--sufficient to cover our debt, sufficient to transform us, and
sufficient to help us for as long as that transformation process
takes. The Book of Mormon teaches us to rely solely on "the merits,
and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah" (2 Nephi 2:8). As we do, we
do not discover--as some Christians believe--that Christ requires
nothing of us. Rather, we discover the reason He requires so much and
find the strength to do all He asks (see Philippians 4:13). Grace is
not the absence of God's high expectations. Grace is the presence of
God's power (see Luke 1:37).
God's grace is sufficient. Jesus's grace is sufficient. It is enough.
It is all we need. Don't quit. Keep trying. Don't look for escapes and
excuses. Look for the Lord and His perfect strength. Don't search for
someone to blame. Search for someone to help you. Seek Christ, and, as
you do, you will feel the enabling power and divine help we call His
amazing grace.
Key Ideas
*
We are saved through the grace of Christ, who paid the price of our sins.
*
Our works, such as repentance and keeping the commandments, do not
save us, but they are requirements set by the Savior to help transform
us.
*
God's grace is divine power to help us with all of our shortcomings
and is available to us at all times.
http://www.lds.org/ensign/
-Sister Peterson
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