Image by Carlo Ciccarelli, CC BY-SA 2.0

Image by Carlo Ciccarelli, CC BY-SA 2.0

Although it can feel like walking on a tight rope, the tension between relying on human ability versus trusting in God’s grace is not resolved by “staying balanced”. Are we praying so much we’ve turned passive? Are we relying on our own strength and wisdom instead of God’s? Trying to stay centered for fear of falling off the rope is tiring.

While walking around my neighborhood the other day it started to rain. Like a child I asked God to let the rain stop until I got home. I asked a few times and it didn’t stop, so I thanked him for his answer (“nope”) and that it wasn’t raining harder and that my home was very close by. Then it started raining harder. Big, cold, drops washing over my hair and drenching my jacket. That’s when I decided to run the rest of the way.

God gave us the capacity to pray that he would change the weather as well as the legs to get us home quicker. They aren’t two ends of a spectrum, but are both gifts from him. Where then does the “merit and grace tension” come from? It may actually be the tension of “faith versus not faith”.

Faith vs Not Faith

Praying and running are both actions, which can be motivated by faith or the lack of it. Here are two quotes to kick off the conversation:

“For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23b)

“To the pure all things are pure” (Titus 1:15a)

(Note: I’m using these quotes to explain the concept more than to exposit the texts. The concept should still be tested through deeper exegesis.)

Whether a person prays or runs, if they do not have faith, it is sin.

Why? Because the actions glorify something other than God. Faithless prayer is merely therapy for an anxious soul. Faithless running highlights the legs of a man fit enough to save himself from being drenched. God will still be glorified in what he has made and done, but the person doing the action without faith does not glorify him.

On the other hand, a person who waits for God, hopes in God, has faith in God alone, whose heart purely desires God, can do anything like pray and/or run and it will not be sin. Everything is pure to such a person.

Why? Everything they do glorifies God. When they pray, they exalt his faithfulness, taking comfort from his character and promises, and thus highlight how awesome he really is. When they run, they exalt his grace for giving them strong legs to get safely home and for keeping them from slipping along the way.

The Relaxing Transformation

So we see that the “merit and grace tension” of leaning too much on one’s ability versus passively letting God decide is not resolved through a balancing act. The tension is resolved through a transformation of the heart. 

This is why walking by faith is in a sense very relaxing. You aren’t worrying about if you are doing too little or too much. You are trusting God for everything and working, praying, resting and learning, with your attention fixed on your Hope rather than your effort (spiritual or otherwise).

This transformation unleashes immense fruitfulness in a believer.

When you walk by faith instead of sight, your merits are treated as graces and used without a second thought to what you deserve (or don’t deserve) for your effort or diligence. You already know by faith that your effort and diligence will be rewarded and are themselves gifts. Even if those gifts were removed, the grace of God will be enough and will continue to abound in thousands of other ways.

You’re not anxious about if you’re doing enough to merit God’s blessing (as if you could). You’re not afraid that God’s favor will be removed because you relied on your strength too much. You’re not depressed about not being good enough to get what you want. You don’t feel guilty over receiving more than you deserve.

Instead, you are grateful for everything and use everything God has given you–the power of prayer, a compassionate heart and sharp intellect, swift feet and strong arms, kind and true words, weakness and suffering, good health and wealth–to honor God and love others.

By faith everything suddenly finds its proper place, everything is aligned and can fulfill the purpose God intended when he gave you those gifts. Instead of living on edge like a marathon tightrope walker, you become like an advanced warship, rolling steadily down a river of grace, exercising your every capability to fulfill your mission as you press on to your destination.

Conclusion

If you feel anxious about the tension of trusting in God versus relying on yourself, RELAX. Trust God to guide your prayers as well as your abilities. Wait for his grace to be revealed to you in both and be open to what he chooses to give.

“For 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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)