Living in Grace Upon Grace

Samuel Stone

Last week PBS aired the Masterpiece version of Les Misérables in six episodes. It was a non-musical version. I watched it and found it very well made. However, if you love the musical, you would find this version missing some zest or some wild emotional rollercoaster that only music can take you through.

In any case, I am sure everyone who has seen or read Les Mis loves it. After all, it was the second longest-running musical in Broadway history with 6680 performances. You would have never thought that such a serious and theologically dense story can be appreciated by every generation.

The story touches the core of the human spirit because deep inside, we all feel the oppression of the law and long for redemption. Every major religion tried to come up with a new set of laws to help us earn redemption, but it only ended up adding to our heavy burden.

Unlike others, Jesus came to deliver grace. John said,

“The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17).

Les Mis is the perfect depiction of the contrast between law and grace. Jean Valjean stole a loaf of bread, but the harsh punishment by the law made him sink deeper to sin and commit a worse crime—stealing the silver from the church that gave him refuge. Inspector Javert wanted a perfect rule of law, and the church wanted to show grace.

Jean Valjean was enslaved by the law but redeemed by grace. Inspector Javert never understood the

grace and believed redemption comes through the strict enforcement of the law.

Lao Tzu said, “The more laws we have, the more thieves we have.” Lao Tzu saw the problem, but he never found the solution. The best solution he could come up with was to go with the flow—Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be.

Lao Tzu vaguely discovered grace as part of the Tao, but he had perceived that the Tao must be the Son of Someone. He said, “I do not know whose son the Tao is. It might appear to have been before God.” (Lao Tzu 4). John answered his question from the very beginning of his Gospel,

“In the beginning was the Word (the Tao in Chinese), and the Word (Tao) was with God, and the Word (Tao) was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being.” (John 1:1-3).

I am sure Lao Tzu would have leaped with joy when he discovers the Gospel of John. He died 500 years too early. His contemporary Confucius also said, “Had I known the Tao in the morning, I am happy to die in the evening.” The sages had a yearning and foresight for the Word. John then said,

“And the Word (Tao) became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” (John 1:14, 16).

I want to focus on this last verse, “From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” It reminds me of the scene Jean Valjean was caught by the police with the silver from the church and brought back to the priest because he told the police that the silver was given to him, but the police didn’t believe him.

The priest testified that it was true and told Valjean that he forgot to take the bigger silver candle stands and gave him those also. That was the turning point of Jean Valjean. For the first time, he understood what grace is. The harsh law didn’t make him righteous, but grace did. The rest of his life became the embodiment of grace.

It’s easy to receive and appreciate grace, but it’s not easy to do grace. Imagine you are the priest. Would you be able to be so gracious? Honestly, I would feel very angry about being betrayed by him. “I give you food and shelter for the night, but you pay me back by stealing from me?”

I have to confess that I might not be so gracious. I will try, but I think I might fail. (Maybe because I am a Libra! Just kidding. That can’t be an excuse in heaven.)

See, we all want to be treated with grace by God, like the way Jean Valjean was treated—grace upon grace—but when we treat others, we become Inspector Javert. We want justice and judgment!

It’s just liked the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant told by Jesus. He begged the king to forgive his debt, and the king showed him mercy, but on his way back, he found someone who owed him just a little, but he refused to forgive him.

Can we live in grace upon grace? This is my New Year resolution. As Christians, we all are the recipients of grace. Can we be the extenders of grace?

From today’s scripture lesson, I draw a list of five actions that we can do to live in grace upon grace. I put them in an acrostic GRACE.

1. Grasp God’s Grace

I have discovered that if I want to show grace, I must receive grace, particularly the one from God. Just like Jean Valjean, he was harsh because the world was harsh on him. From the moment he experienced the irresistible grace, he became a grace giver. Verse 12 says,

“But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.” (John 1:12).

The term “received” is translated from a Greek word meaning “to grasp” or “to seize.” It’s more than just welcoming God, but to hold on to him, or embrace him. The more we grasp God’s grace the more we are able to show grace.

2. Rekindle Your Flame

The world is harsh since it is a fallen world. Every day we are poured over with cold water. Most of the things you see in the news often extinguish your grace. You need to rekindle your flame of grace by looking at Jesus, who is the light of the world. John said,

“In him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” (John 1:4, 5, 9).

Jesus came to the world to rekindle our flame. That’s why I love to read the four Gospels over and over again. If you sit in my car, you will hear the MP3 Bible of the four Gospels repeatedly played over and over again. It rekindles my flame of grace.

3. Assume the Role of God's Child

We behave according to the role we conceive in our mind. If I feel I am a failure, I behave like a failure. The world Jean Valjean was in made him feel like a thief, so he assumed the role of a thief. However, the grace of the priest made him feel like a prince of God, and so he was encouraged to assume that role. John said,

“But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.” (John 1:12).

Notice it says “power.” That’s the power to change. No matter how much of a failure I feel, the Word gives me the power to become a child of God. So, assume it. As a child of God, you have no other way to behave but graciously. You become a noble person doing noble deeds.

4. Communion with Saints

It’s hard to do grace alone in this fallen world. We need each other, not just as a community but as a communion. Communion is different from the community. A community is like a club, a group of special interest people hanging out together, but communion is a spiritual union.

A community is an organization. A communion is an organism. Paul said that all Christians are part of one body with Christ as the head. (1 Cor. 12:27).

By saints, I’m not talking about the Roman Catholic sense of saints. The saints, according to the Bible, are simply the believers, those who are born of the Holy Spirit. John said,

“who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:13).

When you feel discouraged, reach out to the saints, especially the ones who have grace. Sometimes, even watching or reading a story like Les Mis, makes you feel communion with the saints and inspired to show grace.

5. Enlighten the World with Grace

Sometimes, all you need is just do it. I don’t like the expression, “Fake it until you make it,” but it has some truth in it. Just as we assume the role of a child of God, we become gracious, we also can be gracious first and assume the role of a child of God. So, don’t just wait for the mood to take action, take action first, and the mood will follow. Jesus said,

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. … In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Mat 5:14, 16).

Grace includes a sense of hope and trust. God shows grace because he believes in us and has hope in us. In the same way, we must not lose faith in the world. Stretch your light, and it will stretch your faith when you see your light reflects.

Here’s how we can grow our grace: