God is Not my Business Partner

Grace has never been easy for me to accept. It’s a hard concept for me to grasp in this business focused, achievement-oriented world. I think the reason grace is hard to accept is because it doesn’t make sense. A phrase that sticks out from high school economics class is this: “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” There are always hidden costs and fees. Always fine print. When something seems too good to be true, we ask, “What’s the catch?” It is hard for us to believe that we can receive grace without any hidden responsibilities for us to fulfill. It’s hard to believe that there is no “catch.”

I have been reading the book of Romans in The Message lately and it explained the concept of grace and God’s promises in an interesting way. In Romans 4, God’s promises are contrasted with a business contract.

“If those who get what God gives them only by doing everything they are told to do and filling out all the right forms properly signed, that eliminates personal trust completely and turns the promise into an ironclad contract. That’s not a holy promise; that’s a business deal.” –Romans 4:14

Thinking about the difference of a contract and a promise, I looked up the definitions and here is what I found:

“Contract: an agreement between two or more parties for the doing or not doing of something specified.”

“Promise: a declaration that something will or will not be done, given, etc., by one”

Interesting. Am I treating God too much like a business partner rather than my Holy Father? Am I relying too much on myself to earn something that cannot be earned?

Two things stand out to me in those definitions. First, a contract is “between two or more parties.” If God had offered us a business deal, a contract, it would be between the two of us. It would depend on me and God. I would have to hold up my end of the deal. But a promise is made “by one.” Because God has offered us a promise, it depends entirely on Him, not us. Secondly, the definition of a promise emphasizes that something will happen. Not might. Will. It is something we can count on.

The Message goes on to point out that a business deal has lots of fine print. This may be what makes us cautious. We are used to fine print. To details we must obey. With God’s promise, there is no fine print.

I will leave you with this, something I am trying to remember: “…But if there is no contract in the first place, simply a promise- and God’s promise at that- you can’t break it. That is why the fulfillment of God’s promise depends entirely on trusting God and His way, and then simply embracing Him and what He does.” –Romans 4:16