**He wants you to succeed! ****
**by
Laura Swenson
1999
The apostle Paul, talking with his young friend Timothy, urges him:
(2 Timothy 2:1) - "//Thou, therefore my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.//" <br wp="br1">
What is Paul talking about, to be strong in the //grace //that is in Christ? Is this some strange biblical language jibberish salute, or is there really something to that? In the church today, the concept of grace is largely ignored as we busy our way to heaven baking casseroles and ordaining new deacons, yet in the primitive church, it was a common subject. I think that sometimes we get so caught up in the scripture that says that "we are saved by grace, after all we can do" the we unconsciously interpret it to read "we will be saved at the judgement day by god's love if we have done everything he asks us to do in this life." This is not a bad interpretation, and I won't say that it's not true, either, but I think it leads to some misgivings and a lack of study on the subject of what grace really is, and what it does for us right now, in the present, while we are sitting here in this chapel.// //
//What does the doctrine of grace mean to us as Latter-day Saints?// It's simple. **The doctrine of grace is synonymous with the love of our Savior, and a perfect witness of just how badly he wants us to succeed in this mortal test.** And Paul knew that.
Let's think about it a little ...
There is one type of grace that is unconditionally extended to every member of the human race, and that is the opportunity to be resurrected some day, and receive immortality. What an amazing gift! Sharpened senses, intellect, everything, and then of course the gift of life itself - It's sort of like a party favor for just showing up. Isn't that great? Here we had this obstacle - physical death, and he just blew it right out of the way! He did this, because he loves us, and gives us this great gift through his grace. (Ephesians 4:7-8)
Of course, there are other forms of grace that are conditional. We receive these through our own righteous desires and efforts in this life, and they are to help us return to live with Our Heavenly Father. These are a little bit fuzzier sometimes.
First of all, let's talk about our condition after the Fall of Adam. I dunno about you guys but I am very visual, and picture everything in my mind. When someone says "fall", I think "where?" I always picture in my mind a kind of big pit - you know the kind, like for animal traps and stuff, but only much, much deeper. Are you seeing it yet? Okay, so we've "fallen" into this pit called damnation (which is what being separated from our Heavenly Father is called) - not a great place to be. How are we ever going to get out of this pit?
Those of you who are listening with your spiritual ears, know how we're going to get out. Jesus Christ, through his grace, has built us a ladder, and it's the only way out. This ladder is the gospel, and he built it by his perfect life and atonement, making possible the remission of our own sins and imperfections. This is his gospel, and this is his mercy.
The application of this kind of grace to personal sins is conditional because it is only available when a person has faith in Jesus Christ, and repents of his sins. Because of this condition, mercy is able to satisfy the demands of justice, and we have access to God's grace. Also, we must receive the ordinances of the gospel (baptism, the laying on of hands, and the ordinances of the temple) by which we may eventually become sanctified - a step that also comes only by the grace accompanying us when we do good works.
Each of these gifts - repentance, baptism, all that we know as the gospel, these are given us through grace, and make up the rungs of this ladder that will lead us back to Him.
There is still one more type of grace.
One of the most difficult tasks in preparing this talk, believe it or not, was finding a definition for the work "grace." I was surprised and intrigued by something in the Bible Dictionary on the topic. It there reads:
//"It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive //strength// and //assistance// to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an ////**enabling power**//// that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts."// (Emphasis added)
Okay, did you see what I saw there? A strength and assistance? A POWER? I ran through the list of powers I had been taught in Sunday school classes ... priesthood, faith, love, duct tape, (I hope nobody remembers that incident still!) and electricity ... umm ... nope no grace. :) I must be horribly naive, but I don't remember ever talking about grace in primary.
We are so works oriented that we sometimes neglect the power of grace available to us in this life. I learned what seems to be three aspects of this type of grace:
1: //Through the power of grace we receive the strength and assistance that helps us endure to the end after baptism.//
Jacob 4:7
//"Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness, that we may know that it is by his grace, and is great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things."//
2: //It is through the power of grace that we will are perfected and sanctified.//
The Lord teaches us that we are agents unto ourselves, that it is our responsibility to press on after baptism and keep our covenants, but, you know what? Perfection is still out of our reach, as the gifts required of us such as hope and charity are gifts "bestowed upon all who are true followers of Jesus Christ" (Moroni 7:48) by grace through his atonement. "And if ye deny yourselves all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind, and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be made perfect in Christ ... and if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God." As we perform our works, it is through the power of grace that the Lord grants us these gifts required of sanctification.
3: //This power is accessed by fruits of the spirit, not perfection, in order to help us //reach// perfection.//
One of Satan's greatest tools in a "works" oriented society is to make us believe that we are too far gone to receive of grace, that we need to reach a certain point of "goodness" in our own minds in order to ask the Lord for his grace and help. We are taught, however, that grace is not dependent on our capability, but our willingness to accept his help. It is by a broken heart and a contrite spirit that we are recipients of the power of Grace, that thereby it may begin to act in our lives.
Remember the words from Ether? This is a famous scripture, so I want everyone to just sit and listen quietly to what it teaches us about grace, and the strength found in it.
Ether 12:27 //(It is through the power of his grace that he will give us the strength and assistance we need, that weak things may become strong unto us.) //<br wp="br1">
So, back to the pit. We were stuck. Jesus Christ, through his atonement, provided us with a way out, or as we discussed before, "built us a ladder." This was not an easy ladder to build, and is not an easy one to climb. But, as these three points teach us, through the power of grace, day by day in our lives he will give us the support and strength to endure to the end. He will perfect and sanctify us, endowing us with Christlike attributes. And he assures us that this power is available to all with desires to climb, every day.
I repeat. He not only built the ladder to help us out, but is going to help us climb it. You see, He's done everything in his power to help us succeed, everything he can do without interfering with our own free agency, and he has done all of this by the power of grace. Basically, all that is left up to us is the decision to climb. Isn't it amazing just how much he loves us? We can see so clearly this way that he doesn't want us to fail... So, are you willing to climb? Will you take those steps? <br wp="br1">
Grace is not only something we hope to receive at the judgement bar, but something we have daily access to and should work for throughout this pursuit of exaltation, as we struggle on the rungs of this ladder. //The idea of being ultimately saved by grace should be regarded as more of a constant occurrence than singular event. //
There's a familiar story passed around the church on grace - I would like to modify it only a little to illustrate the principle. Do you remember the little girl who had been saving her pennies trying to earn enough money to buy a bicycle? Her father took her to the store, and she poured out her pittance, which was matched by his on the counter, and she drove off on her shiny new bicycle. That's a great story to illustrate grace at the last day, but seems to lack something in the process. What if we did it this way?:
Jenny was 6 years old, and wanted a bicycle very badly. Unfortunately, bicycles cost money, something she had very little of, and being six years old, had a hard time earning because of //her own inabilities and limitations//. She would have never been able to earn the money that that bicycle cost. Jenny's father, however, was much bigger than she was, and knew a lot more about life, and money, and things like that, and knew also, that Jenny would never be able to afford that bicycle on her own, but //wanted her to have it.// Jenny's father had money, and could have possibly just given the bike to her, but was also very wise and chose to have her learn a little about economics in the process, that someday she might know everything about money, hard work, sacrifice, and //other attributes necessary for her to become what he wanted her to become//. So, what he did, being from Utah, was give Jenny a little job wheel. Jenny had certain things that she needed to do every day. If she didn't get them done, she didn't earn anything. However, if Jenny did her job, and did it the very best she could, her father paid her for the work she had done, helping her along the path to her bicycle because he loved her. Jenny always knew that her father was there to help her, and that his purpose was to help her to get the bicycle in the end, but that it really depended on her and her efforts in her part of the bargain as to whether she would have it by the assigned date or not. Some days she worked very hard, and some days she didn't. When she was discouraged because of her little progress, her father was there to encourage her and help her along. When she wasn't sure how to accomplish a certain task he had given her, she knew she could depend on his help once again, to teach and train her, that she could eventually do it on her own. Some time down the road, Jenny realized that her father was paying her a lot for what was in the world very little work, (although to her they were difficult tasks to accomplish!) and she loved her father, and learned to trust in him even more. **He provided her with strength and encouragement, opportunity to learn, and not to mention an incredible salary, but would not just give her the bike - she had to work for it.** Soon the day came that Jenny counted her pennies, and realized that she had in fact earned enough to buy the bicycle.
She told her father that she was ready, and with bright smiles on each face, the two of them made the trip down to the store together to pick out her prize.
The story isn't all that changed, except that we can hopefully see a little better the ways that the Lord really wants to bless us with his grace. He provided the ladder for Jenny to climb - a way out, by giving her that job wheel, and then helped her every day to reach her goal. Like Jenny's dad, Our Heavenly Father gives us far more than we could possibly merit when we are striving to do his will. When we are trying to do our part, we receive of his grace day by day, helping us to become what he would have us be that he may someday give us what we desire.
"The words of Christ, if we follow their course, [shall] carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise ... The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever."
Our Father in Heaven wants us to make it.
We can make it through the grace of Jesus Christ.
We only need -- to climb.
(2 Timothy 2:1) - "Thou, therefore my son, be //strong//// in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.//"
I know that the Lord loves us, and that he is and always will be our most devout faithful cheerleader, our strongest support, our dearest friend, our Savior, and Redeemer forever. That each of us may find strength in this doctrine of grace, and know that we are here to succeed is my prayer, and I leave it in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Bibliography
The Encyclopedia of Mormonism, "Grace", Deseret Book Company 1992
The Book of Mormon, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1989
The Holy Bible, King James Version, LDS (with dictionary), 1991
Following Christ, Stephen E. Robinson, Deseret Book, 1995
Questions, Comments, or Suggestions?
