you can’t earn what is freely given

I feel overwhelmed. Often. As someone who has spent much of my life trying to prove my worth through the things I do, I tend to take on too much. Add that to the fact that life is already difficult to navigate, and you have a recipe for overwhelm, leading to stress and frustration.

One Sunday morning, Lars and I were getting ready for church. I was scurrying around frantically trying to get together everything we would need while Lars was methodically (and slowly!) filling up our water bottles. The house was a mess, we were running late, and I hadn’t had time to get dressed yet! In my flustered state, I snapped.

“What are you doing!? What on earth is taking so long!?” I could feel my racing heart and blood pounding in my ears. I felt justified in my frustration, but somewhere my mind was also whispering that I was being irrational. Lars stopped what he was doing and slowly approached me, offering a hug. At first, I resisted in my self-righteousness. However, I reluctantly accepted, my attitude still bristling.

After our interaction, I felt ashamed. How could I be so harsh when he was so kind? Our drive to church was quiet. Finally, I broke the silence.

“Do you still love me?” It felt like a silly question.

My husband gently responded, “I never stopped loving you.”

Tears started welling in my eyes. “I don’t feel worthy. I don’t deserve to be loved when I act so poorly.”

That’s when Lars said something that has stuck with me ever since and is slowly reshaping how I view grace and my relationship with God.

“You can’t earn what is freely given.”

He explained that he chooses to love me regardless of my behavior. He chooses to extend grace when I need it. I can’t earn that from him because he chooses to give it freely to me, whether I deserve it or not. Whether I deem myself deserving of it or not.

In many ways, this is what God’s grace looks like.

Friend, you can’t earn what is freely given. You can do all the good deeds, read your Bible, serve others, or give generously, and none of that will make God love you any more than He already does.

You can’t earn what is freely given. You can yell at your loved ones, act selfishly, fudge your taxes, or road rage while driving, and none of that will make God love you any less than He already does.

God’s love and grace come free of charge. You cannot earn your way into God’s favor. You can’t be or do anything that will make God look at you any differently than He does now. He loves you with an everlasting love.

This mindset shift does not come easily. I am the first to admit that grace is a foreign concept to me. So often in disagreements or conflict when I behave horribly, I feel unlovable. I feel isolated like I’ve burnt down the bridge that closed the gap between me and another. I try to earn my way back into the favor of the offended individual by being extra kind, trying to “make up” for what I’ve done or said.

The fact is, with God, there is no favor to restore you to because you never lost it in the first place. Grace is not something that is extended when we deserve it. In fact, it’s the opposite. God’s grace shines brightest when you are at your darkest because His love does not depend on your actions or behavior. His love depends on His character. You receive grace freely and richly because of Jesus.

Romans 5:8 says that God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners (NLT). You could never earn that love because the gift was offered before you even recognized your need for it. Grace was extended before you even asked for it. Grace was given freely, without charge, with no strings attached.

God doesn’t ask for anything in return for His sacrifice because that would forfeit grace and turn it into an exchange. Grace is a one-sided transaction, where the one extending the grace is also the one paying for it. Jesus paid the price and offers the gift of grace to you free of charge. You could never pay Him back for such a great gift, so He offers it to you freely.

Grace doesn’t negate the consequences of your actions. Grace absorbs the cost for you. God is perfectly just, so He couldn’t allow sin to go unpunished. As a result, He decided to send Jesus in your place. He charged Jesus’ account and declared yours to be paid in full. As Jesus hung, dying, on the cross, He declared that “it is finished.” There is nothing more to be added to His sacrifice.

God could have taken the easy way out.

He could have seen the wretched state you and I are in and decided to ignore the sinfulness. He could have excused your guilt and allowed you into heaven just the way you are. He could have declared you “not guilty” without any further ado. He makes the rules, after all! What He says goes. What would it matter, anyway?

I work in the finance department, so I constantly deal with payments and balance accounts. Occasionally, we will have a client who seems to drop off the face of the planet when it comes time to collect payment. Sometimes, they are MIA for so long that we write off the remaining balance and leave it at that, never having collected the funds.

God could have done that too, couldn’t He? He could’ve written off your sin debt and not collected the payment from anyone.

He could have taken the easy way out.

But He didn’t.

Because He is both loving and just, He knew that the price for sin had to be paid. The account had to be set to rights again. The wages of sin is death and someone has to pay the price. Otherwise, chaos would run rampant and God wouldn’t be good.

So instead of requiring the price from your account, He put it on Jesus. He charged Jesus with your wrongdoing. He went after Jesus to collect the payment. That would be like my employer paying the account off themselves instead of simply writing off the missing funds! That’s bad business in the human way of thinking, that’s for sure!

That is a gloriously gutsy move right there. It cost God His only Son to make things right with you. You were the one whose account was overdue. You were the one who was dodging your payments. And God decided that instead of requiring the payment at your hand, He would require it at Jesus’.

That is how beloved and precious you are to God, friend. He could have taken the easy way out but He didn’t because He is perfectly just. He could have condemned you, but He didn’t because He is perfectly loving.

It is finished. Your account is paid off. You are free! You cannot add to Jesus’ perfect work because it is finished and generously given to you without charge.

“It is finished.” May those words land on your bones for the nights when fear tells you the cross was just a beginning and you must finish grace.

Jon Acuff

When you feel too far gone, unlovable, or unworthy, remind yourself of this truth: you can’t earn what is freely given. God already calls you beloved. He has already paid the redemption price and is inviting you to come back to Him. He is waiting for you with open arms and grace, rich and free.