Why is it that when we think of eating something healthy we think of spinach? It is the quintessential stereotype in any children’s story to have a parent telling their little one to eat their spinach. Why do we also approach our relationship with God this way? I better eat my spinach: read my Bible for so long each day, go to church every Sunday, put a certain amount of money in the offering plate, and the list goes on. If we do all these things we will be spiritually healthy right?
I don’t think this is quite what God had in mind when He made humans. Also, let’s be honest, just like kids kick up a fuss about eating their spinach, not many of us actually stick with a dry spiritual diet like that anyway.
I recently heard a worship song with the phrase, “grace upon grace” in it. For some reason it made me think of whipped cream. I believe that what God is really offering us is dessert, not spinach. He has this wonderful gift of salvation and new life He offers us and then on top of that He gives us grace upon grace. This is like getting a piece of pie and being offered whipped cream and then more whipped cream! The best part of all, is that we don’t even have to eat all our spinach to get this dessert. There is nothing we have to do to earn what Jesus wants to give us, in fact one definition of grace is, “unmerited favor.”
Don’t worry, I am definitely not advocating abandoning your Bible or your church. When we have a real relationship with God those things change from things we feel like we have to do, to things we get to do. Oddly enough, the most difficult thing in all of this is simply receiving what Jesus is offering. Saying yes to a relationship with Him and then yes to the grace He wants to lavish on us can be extremely difficult. However, once we get a taste of the life He is offering we will probably be okay living on dessert!
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10
“How much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17
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