Bridge of Grace

Grace is subtle and easy to overlook. It is part of  human nature to imagine that most of the good in our lives is due to our own talent, hard work, or luck. If things don’t work out, we are more likely to blame our environment, genetics, or the government.  If only we could recognize the evidence of God’s grace throughout each day! It would help if we had built-in, spiritual detectors that gave a signal every time we encountered grace.

According to Dallas Willard, grace is :“God acting in our life to bring about, and to enable us to do, what we cannot do on our own.”

There is a gap between what we are able to do under our own power and what can be accomplished under God’s power. Grace is the bridge that spans this gap. Trust and Love are the two towers that support this suspension bridge.  And just as a long bridge over a wide river or canyon is much more obvious than a short bridge over a creek, grace is more evident when the gap is bigger.

Grace shines through in the midst of helplessness, hopelessness, and suffering. Even then, if we are not expecting it, not looking for it, we might miss it. So often, we are so focused on the pain and powerlessness that we become oblivious to everything else, including how God is working.  

Finally, we have to stretch beyond our abilities, hope for more than what we deserve, in order to activate grace. As long as we are content to operate within our own power, we don’t need it.  So next time I feel completely helpless, I shall wait expectantly for the bridge of grace.