When I was about eight years old, I became a Cub Scout. Besides all of the other exciting things we did, the highlight was often earning those merit badges.
I had a whole sleeve of them! I had a woodsman badge, first aid badge, citizenship badge, a pet badge. I worked hard to get a badge for camping and one for tying all kinds of knots. Being part of the Cub Scouts.... could there be anything better?
Yes, showing off all those badges, which I did every time I put my uniform on at home or went to a Cub Scout meeting. Showing them off to my fellow Cub Scouts, showing how well I was doing compared to them, gave my young ego the boost it needed. The merit badge system just does something for you. - its accomplishments bring applause. They bring the attention of others that we so often look for.
How often do we still have a merit badge system when we get older. If we are not trying to get the attention of other people, we’re trying to get the attention of God Himself. We have this idea that if we are kind, if we do enough good works, that somehow we will warrant God’s ‘well done!’'
But the touchy question is... how good is good enough? We are never really sure when we set out to get God’s attention. So we just keep doing more and more of the things that we think will hopefully move things in our favour. Our spiritual merit badges. Yet if we were to ask God what we can do that would help us experience what He offers, He would say, “there is nothing you can do, it’s all a matter of my grace.”
Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Often we think grace is that prayer we say before we eat a meal, but it is so much more than that. Grace is God’s unmerited favour.
It’s His gift to all who will receive it. Despite your sin, your short - comings, your mistakes, God offers you His favour because of His great love for you. It is unearned. Our merits merit nothing. We work so hard to merit God’s favour but instead we become the weariest people on earth. And so, God says, “Put those merit badges away! You can’t earn my grace, you just have to receive it as a free gift.”
When you allow grace to happen in your life, Jesus removes your heart that is poisoned by pride and pain, and replaces it with His own heart. Can you imagine facing life with the heart of Christ? What potential would that open up for your life, starting today?
If you are wondering whether God can do something with the mess of your life, then grace is what you need. For grace is in the business of replacing your mess with the goodness of Jesus Christ. You see, grace is God’s best idea. Rather than telling us to change, He creates the change. Does that mean you have to clean up your life first, do more and more good works? No, God accepts us and begins to clean us up. And what a difference that makes. Can’t forgive? God can help. Can’t get over that bad habit? God can. It’s a matter of grace minus your efforts. There is nothing you can do to earn God’s favour. So just let grace happen. Put away all those merit badges you think will help you get God’s attention and rest now.
The question is, how do we get grace? We don’t... grace gets us! Of all the things you must earn in life, God’s unending affection is not one of them. You have it! So rest now. You can ask God to give you His grace. It’s there for the asking! God is just waiting to get the nod from you. All you have to do is open your life to it. No spiritual merit badges to earn first. All God wants from us is faith, so put your faith in Him and rest in His grace. Grace is not something that happened... it is still happening! May it happen to you!
This column is submitted by Tri-Community Baptist Church in Beiseker.
