A few days ago, I posted a quote from a friend who told me
that Christians are saved in a split second, then spend the rest of their lives
trying to figure out what happened. Tozer relates how William James tried to “psychologize
the wonders of God’s workings in the human life and experience” only to say
that “the genuine child of God is someone who cannot be explained by human
reasoning.”
If this is impossible, why then do we try?
Most of us have friends who over-explain. Some of us are
like that ourselves. A woman called yesterday to tell me she was staying home
last night because . . . and the explanation went from health problems on and
on and wound up with several explanations of why her family needed her to baby
sit the next day. This took several minutes and was mostly one long sentence.
She has this strong inclination to explain everything she does.
Our son is sometimes like that. When he was a teen and
came home from a movie, we didn’t dare ask him about the movie because he would
give a scene-by-scene, line-by-line description that often was as long as the
movie . . . and we were usually in bed when it happened.
People like those two are often teachers. Perhaps the
Apostle Paul was a teacher too. He loved to explain the theology God taught him
— in many ways and in varying details. He also loved to explain how Christians put
our faith into practice, with many repetitions.
However, the exact explanation of how salvation happens
has limits. As Tozer says, when we come into a relationship with Jesus Christ
through new birth, “something takes place by the ministry of the Spirit of God
which psychology cannot explain.”
The best Paul could say is that it happens by grace. That
word has been defined varying ways. Some say it means God’s unconditional care
and kindness. Others say it is an expression of God’s love and mercy that
caused Him to send Jesus. Another definition says it means being spiritually
awakened to who Christ is, and in that new view of Him, we are changed to be
more like Him.
All of these are attempts to explain what happens when we
are saved. A familiar passage puts it this way:
Even when we were dead in our trespasses, (God) made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:5–9)
Another explanation likens faith to a person who
introduces me to royalty. That person is not royalty but is instrumental in
bringing me to the One who is — therefore I can shake hands with the King of
kings.
I understand grace as the reason I can do that and that it
is a gift from God, nothing I deserved or earned. What I don’t understand is
the “why me?” part of this incredible salvation. God can save anyone, but not
everyone is saved. He loves everyone, yet not everyone is saved. Why should I be
granted a relationship with Almighty God?
Given that all are sinners and all sinners have no interest
in God, that He saves anyone is a marvel. We all resist Him; the Bible says no
one seeks Him. Yet He reaches out to us, sends Jesus to die for us, sends the
Holy Spirit to draw us to Himself. This is grace, but there are no reasons for
why He picked me or anyone else out of the muddy mass of humanity to become His
children.
The more I understand what happened, the less I understand
why He did it. Yet the less I understand, the more He calls me to trust Him
with all the unknowns, all the stuff that does not make sense or seem reasonable.
When it comes down to it, who am I to understand Almighty God? He gives me
enough glimpses into His will for me to realize that even wanting to figure
things out can be a terrible arrogance.
^^^^^^^^^^
Jesus, today’s news is enough to drive people into a ‘why’
frenzy. If I got the notion into my head that all my blessings are deserved, that
could lure me into an ego-stroking frenzy, but I know better. Tozer says, “The
reason that faith is so important an element in every true life is simply
because it links our nothingness with God Himself.” For me, the key word in
that quote is “nothingness” — a good description of my merit and a good
reminder that only “grace” can explain that link I have with You. By reason and
rational thinking, it should not be there. By faith, it is.