By the grace of God, I am what I am

Right at the beginning of the holy season of Lent, St. Paul reminded us, “We exhort you not to receive the grace of God in vain” and, “Behold, now is the favourable time, behold, now is the day of salvation”. No wonder then that the Church advices its believers that the Lenten season, along with fasting, prayer and almsgiving is, above all, a special season of grace.

Observing, however, the way many

Christians keep the holy season of Lent, I get an impression as if Lent for them is a time of only “giving up of something that they like and love”. Why I feel a bit uncomfortable with that is because with such an approach they forget that the essence of Christianity lies in accepting our life as a gratuitous gift of God’s grace. Many Christians think that by denying themselves the “good things of life”, they would be able to win God’s favour and persuade Him to change His mind towards them. They fail to focus on the primacy of grace, which is what makes us who we are and what we do.

Therefore, St. Paul writes, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need”. Similarly prophet Isaiah tells us, “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore, he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him”! That confirms the prayer of the Psalmist, “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love”.

The most important thing therefore during Lent is to first of all become aware of God’s grace and unconditional love freely given to us through the person of Jesus. And secondly, to spend the time of Lent just receiving that “grace and love” by opening our hearts to that reality, much like opening the window to let the light of the sun or the gush of fresh wind, in. For, as the gospel of John says, “And from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace”.

And if after experiencing that grace and love, we are called to “give up” things out of love for God, then that has a different meaning, rather than doing things in order to win God’s grace and favour.

Only then will the words of St. Paul to Titus, “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age”, make real sense, enabling us to experience: “By the grace of God, I am what I am.”