Theology @ Work – Grace

All of the theology in the Bible – all of Christian theology – can be summed up with a single word: Grace. All of our calling, whether in the workplace or elsewhere, is summed up as a call to exhibit this same Grace.

These are pretty sweeping statements aren’t they? Am I overstating the case? Consider these facts:

1. From the beginning of Creation, God has given and humans have rebelled. God has forgiven and humans have fallen again.
2. Every gift that humans have is given by God, with nothing that we can possibly give in return.
3. It is only out of God’s kindness, mercy and undeserved and unrepayable favor that we continue to live, that we have relationships, that we can approach Him in worship, and that we can enjoy His creation.
4. For God to give us purpose in His Kingdom, for Him to call us to participate in His work, for Him to promise that in time we will reign and inherit in the Kingdom of His Son, are such outrageous promises that we can scarcely believe them.

Kindness, mercy, loving-kindness, undeserved gifts – these are all partial translations of the most common Biblical words that we more generally translate “grace”. In the Hebrew and Greek of the Bible:

• Hen (Hebrew derived from hanan meaning to favor or grant mercy) relates to God’s decision to show favor to Noah (Gen 6:8), Lot (Gen 19:19) and Moses (Ex 33:12-13).
• Hesed (Hebrew derived from hasad meaning to be good or kind) goes a step further, relating to the astonishing love of God toward His people in general (e.g. Ps 107:43, Is 63:7).
• Charis (Greek from char meaning well-being, pleasant, delightful) is used in the New Testament to speak of the most amazing gift of all time, the sacrifice of the Son of God, the Messiah, for the salvation of the people of God (e.g. Acts 15:11).

The Bible is essentially an account of God’s dealing with His people – Israel and the Church. To that extent it is quite simply an account of His grace. Again and again we read that God’s action for and with us is an act of grace – whether it is forgiveness, or equipping and growing, or calling to His Kingdom.

Our calling to the workplace is equally a matter of God’s grace. Everything He wants to accomplish through us is a matter of grace – His grace given to us and to be passed on to those around us.

It is many years since I read Philip Yancey’s book “What’s So Amazing About Grace” but I am still impacted by it and strongly recommend it to anyone who has not read it. Simply put, he argues that in far too much of our daily living, in our relationships, in our evangelism, we demonstrate our lack of understanding for and appreciation of God’s grace. It is time to bring grace back into our daily lives. It is time we showed grace in all its glory in our workplace, offering unconditional love and acceptance, giving of our selves beyond any “duty”, and most of all point the way to the only Source of true grace.