Back when we had print magazines, they use to have a feature called “Word of the Day” that was meant to help you learn new vocabulary. Well, the word today from St. Paul seems to be “grace”—we use it so frequently, yet it’s so misunderstood.
Some think, “I can’t do anything to be saved, so I can live however I want and God will forgive me anything—because it’s all grace, right?” The opposite are people who try to earn grace by their good deeds. They can get cranky because “when I sin it’s all my fault, but when something good happens, it’s all God? Both views are wrong.
Both show a mechanistic view of grace, as if it’s something like gasoline. You’re running low, so you drive up to God’s window—“Fill’er up!" Another poor analogy might be: Say you have a computer, you sign up for internet service, and you’re fully plugged into power. But what if you choose, for some reason, never to turn it on? The power is there to serve you, but you’re not using it.
Better, but still not accurate: picture God as a wireless Power Source that never needs connecting—all the power (and the glory) has been there for all time, and will be for eternity. That’s the definition of grace: receiving the Power of love and forgiveness. But sometimes we refuse to turn it on—to use the connection. That’s not the Power’s fault, is it?!
To be “in a state of grace”does NOT mean we walk around in a holy haze of perfection. It means we are accessing the Ultimate Power to live our lives. Lent reminds us that we need to be connected to God in prayer and works of charity. As we pass the half way point of this holy season, let us make a stronger effort to be God’s people and to do His Will, living in His Grace.