Grace Begins Where Human Striving Ends
Rev. Aniekan "Mbomboyo" Okokon ·
But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. — Romans 11:6
Grace and striving cannot share a room. Paul is blunt about it: if it is by grace, it is not by works, or grace stops being grace. You cannot earn a little and be given the rest. Either the whole thing is a gift or none of it is.
Why we keep striving anyway
Striving feels responsible. It feels humble, even - surely I should do my part. But under the humility is a refusal: a refusal to be the kind of person who has to be given everything. Striving keeps a little of the credit. Grace takes all of it, and gives all the gift.
The moment it ends
Most believers can point to a moment - at conversion or years later - when they simply stopped. Not gave up on holiness, but gave up on earning. The sensation is not defeat. It is relief, like putting down a load you had forgotten you were carrying. That moment is where grace begins, because grace was always there; striving was standing in front of it.
What grace does once striving stops
- It saves. "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."
- It trains. Grace teaches us to renounce ungodliness (Titus 2:12). The gift comes with a Teacher.
- It works. "I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me" (1 Corinthians 15:10). Grace produces more labour than striving ever did - and none of it is anxious.
An invitation
If you are tired, it may be that you are standing at the door of grace with your hands full. Put it down. Not the obedience - the earning. Grace begins exactly where your striving ends, and it has been waiting there the whole time.