Grace in the Season of Lent.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing; it is a gift of God-not the results of works, so that no one may boast.”  [Ephesians 2:8-9 N.R.S.V.]

Easter comes late this year. Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent is March 1st. Lent is the season of the church year when we prepare ourselves for Easter. We remember the sacrifice our Lord Jesus made for us and in response we sacrifice something we like or we begin a new spiritual discipline. Overall, it is not usually the time we think that much about grace.

I read an interesting story the other day about a group of scholars who were debating what sets Christianity apart from the other religions of the world. With our age so concerned with multiculturalism and the rise of Islam, it is a debate that is really relevant and timely for today. However this exchange happened over fifty years ago.

The first answer proposed to the question of what is it exactly that makes Christianity different was he Incarnation. God with us was suggested. It was immediately pointed out that other religions, Buddhism for example, taught of a god living with humans. The next suggestion was resurrection. Christianity teaches that is another life beyond this one. However, both Islam and some forms of Judaism, believe in an afterlife as well.

At this point when the debate seemed hopelessly deadlocked, a young scholar name C.S. Lewis stood up and said: “It is grace. Christianity is the only one of the world’s religions that teaches us about God who loves enough to give us the gift of His grace and that is what makes it so different from all the rest.”

That is so true! Other religions teach that God is a stern judge or offer a rigid set of rules that must be obeyed. Or else they teach that salvation can be earned by what the believer does or does not do. In our text quoted above, the writer of Ephesians reminds us that in Christianity salvation is by grace, through faith, and that it is a gift from God.

Perhaps the greatest example of this gift of God’s grace is the Cross of Calvary. For it was there that God’s gift was freely given for “whosoever will” accept it. So maybe Lent is the perfect time of the year to think about and talk about grace.

So this year we prepare once again to remember the Easter event, let us open our hearts and minds to receive grace on top of grace, so that salvation can be ours: remembering that it is not the result of our works, so we have no right to boast. Rather it is the gift of God. God’s grace is offered to you. Receive it. Accept it. Use it. Live it.

Richard