I read this article yesterday in BYU Magazine that I loved. It is from a devotional address given this summer by Brad Wilcox and, while I have heard many great analogies in my life which attempt to make understandable what Christ has done for us, this may be my new favorite. Here is a excerpt:
"Christ's arrangement with us is similar to a mom providing music lessons for her child. Mom pays the piano teacher. Because Mom pays the debt in full, she can turn to her child and ask for something. What is it? Practice! Does the child's practice pay the piano teacher? No. Does the child's practice repay Mom for paying the piano teacher? No. Practicing is how the child shows appreciation for Mom's incredible gift. It is how he takes advantage of the amazing opportunity Mom is giving him to live his life at a higher level. Mom's joy is found not in getting repaid but in seeing her gift used--seeing her child improve."
"In the same way, because Jesus had paid justice, He can now turn to us and say, "Follow me" (Matt 4:19), "keep my commandments" (John 14:15). If we see His requirements as being way too much to ask, maybe it is because we do not yet see through Christ's eyes. We have not yet comprehended what He is trying to make of us."
"I have friends who say to me, "You Mormons are trying to earn your way to heaven."
"I say, "No, we are not earning heaven. We are learning heaven. We are preparing for it (D&C 78:7). We are practicing for it. "
"They ask me, "Have you been saved by grace?"
"I answer, "Yes. Absolutely, totally, completely, thankfully--yes!"
"Then I ask them a question that perhaps they have not fully considered: "Have you been changed by grace?" Latter-day Saints know not only what Jesus has saved us from but also what He has saved us for. As my friend Brett C. Sanderson puts it, "A life impacted by grace eventually begins to look like Christ's life." As my friend, Omar Canals shared with me, "While many Christians view Christ's suffering as only a huge favor he did for us, Latter-day Saints also recognize it as a huge investment He made in us. " As Moroni puts it, grace isn't just about being saved. It is also about becoming like the Savior. (see Moro. 7:48)"
You can read the entire speech here.
4 comments:
So funny because I was about to blog about that SAME article! You beat me. I thought it was amazing article. It somehow made me feel better. And understand grace better as well. Thanks, Cindy.
Great minds think alike. :)
Read the article last night and then read it aloud again to Dad. It really is great.
We must all be on the same page! I read that article and loved it, too.
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