One of the most memorable ways I have heard the grace of God illustrated is through the image of a professor talking to his students on the first day of class. As the illustration goes, the students sit down and the teacher begins by saying, “I have already given each one of you an ‘A’. The grade has already been submitted, and the decision is final. Now, just relax and enjoy the material.”
If you were a student in this class, how do you think this revelation from the teacher would affect you? Would you learn better and pay closer attention if you knew your final grade was already decided? I think each one of us can agree that the experience would be fundamentally different, and I firmly believe the change would be for the better. I think we would all listen more closely and learn more deeply without the stress of performance lurking in the back of our minds.
Because of the perfect life and sacrificial death of Jesus, all those who trust in him find themselves in a remarkably similar position. Despite the common belief that free grace will lead believers to ignore God’s commands, the reality is that those who are most secure in Christ are also those who are most obedient. In Christ, you are already righteous and your destiny has already been decided. Your final grade has already been submitted and you are free to relax and enjoy the ‘material’ of life—loving God and loving neighbour freed from the concern that you won’t perform well enough to be accepted by him.
In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul writes of God that, “those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:30). Notice Paul’s use of the past tense of the word “glorified.” Although our glorification has yet to take place, it is so certain and so guaranteed that we may as well talk like it has already happened!
Having a new destiny fundamentally changes every aspect of our lives. It allows us to love and forgive others with the love and forgiveness that has already been extended to us, and it allows us to face suffering and hardship with the confidence that any trial, no matter how painful and how difficult, is merely a breath in the eyes of eternity. Peter says it like this—“after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10).
If you are in Christ today, you have a new destiny. The end has already been decided, and the final grade has already been submitted, Let this reality strengthen you in the midst of trials and spur you on to greater love and good works as those who have been predestined, called, justified, and glorified in Christ!
All the best,
Luke
