A Work of Grace

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.

- Ephesians 2: 8, 9

I did not feel particularly lovable this drowsy Monday morning, world weariness sinking in, but when a colorful client of mine walked through the door his eyes lit up when they met mine, smiling broadly from ear-to-ear, and happily calling out my name for all to hear. It dawned on me; he's simply happy that I'm alive! It's doubtlessly not my performance or attractiveness, particularly on a heartless Monday morning, that puts a smile on his face when he sees me. There's something else at work.

If I could define my work with people with developmental disabilities, in a word, it would be: grace. The undeserved, unmerited favour of God has become more evident to me everyday in their presence, and I'm beginning to accept that I am accepted in spite of being unacceptable. God's free gift of grace: a smile freely given in spite of my unattractiveness, calling me by name even when I withdraw in self-absorption, reaching out heart-to-heart though I have nothing left to give.

Grace has a leveling effect on our world, "so that no one can boast". We will never be "good enough" to be accepted by our holy, altogether perfect, sovereign Creator on our own. Thank God, salvation is not earned by self-effort, but by a Divine initiative that sent Jesus to the cross on our behalf even when we had turned our backs on God, hands outstretched in self-sacrificial love, marked once-for-all by grace. We're all on common ground at the foot of the cross.

If God's grace is for me, than it's for you too. My client understands how grace works: his spacious smile spreads out for all, no one is left out of the reach of his smile. I sincerely have nothing to boast about, my only response to such amazing grace is gratitude. I'm so thankful for his welcoming smile, happy to be alive after all, even on a Monday morning. I smiled at the next person I met, extending God's spreading grace in that place.