Calculating Grace (and Finding it Doesn't Add Up)

In case you aren't a details person, I changed the name of the blog.  It's been 2.5 years since I started this gig, so it was time for a face lift.  "Observations of the Ordinary" was a blog I started to have a space to preserve and share the funny, interesting, and otherwise noteworthy experiences of raising a child.  My firstborn gave me plenty of material.  But I've found that when it comes to writing, my creative juices have shifted.

Now I am much more interested in writing about spiritual matters - what experiences I am having with God, observations of Christians and the Church, and what the Bible has to do with real life.  I have a desire to live a transparent life as a Christian so that those around me (whether they have similar or vastly different beliefs) can see how relational faith in God is not only possible but immeasurably more glorious than everything else in life.

With that shift of focus in mind, I've changed the name of the blog to "Calculating Grace". What does that mean?  It means I, like many Christians, spend far too much time trying to understand why God loves us and wants anything to do with us.  We know He does, via our own experiences and what the Bible teaches, but we often feel like we can't accept His love.  When we do the math, our sinfulness makes us feel unworthy of a Holy God's love.  When we try to calculate His grace, wanting to grasp how our sin + accepting Jesus' sacrifice = unlimited grace, we find it doesn't add up.  And that is precisely the beauty of it.

The Bible says, "⁴ But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, ⁵ that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) ⁶ For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. ⁷ So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.  ⁸ God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. ⁹ Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it."

Not one of us deserves God's love.  It can't be earned.  It doesn't make any sense that He would show us an ounce of kindness. We can try to calculate grace, but we will find it doesn't add up.

Thank God it doesn't have to.