I didn’t really kill any one’s mom, but imagine if someone did kill your mom. Now imagine that they felt bad about it so in order to make it up to you they told you that they were going to wash your car. Now before you get too mad at them they are also going to detail it and put one of the good smelling things on the inside. Doesn’t their effort make everything better?

When we make a mistake we often try to make it up to God because we feel bad or because we are afraid that He is going to nuke us. We try to make ourselves feel better by going to church, giving a little money to the offering, or buying Girl Scout Cookies. What? They have a good cause and buying those cookies makes me feel better.  I digress.  We believe that our effort will make everything better. If it’s silly to offer to wash some one’s car after you kill their mom then it’s equally silly to try to do good things for God after we have messed up. How do you repay God for a sin that sent His son to the cross? You can’t!

You can’t do anything to make God love you more or less then He already does. We all deserve Hell and death, but because of Jesus we can spend eternity in Heaven with God. This is God’s grace. I don’t know anything else in the world that has a system of grace. A system that says you screwed up but I am going to pay the penalty for you and give you a gift that you can’t repay. That’s crazy!

I know that you mean well when you try to make it up to God, but it’s kind of a slap in the face. Instead of trying to wash God’s car after we have sinned we should fall into the arms of grace and allow ourselves to be loved by God. A love that propels us to not want to mess up, but forgives us when we do. A love that says despite your imperfections I sent my Son to die for you. A love that says my grace is sufficient for you. A love that says you don’t have to work for my grace. I don’t know about you but I love God’s system of grace.