Living in the Abundance of Grace

In the early Hebrew economy, one died in the socio-economic status into which one was born.   The beacon of modern capitalism, which in principle at least, offers one the opportunity to go from rags to riches with hard work, was not relevant at that time.  While there were different social classes, economic mobility was truly limited.

One of the effects of this system was that there was a fixed amount of goods and resources.  The pie was finite and if one person obtained a larger share, someone else lost out.  Today, in principle, we have the goal of enlarging the pie for everyone, although it seldom works out in practice.

I was reflecting today about how this relates to our relationship with God’s grace.  Before the Paschal Mystery of our Lord, our ability to conquer sin and live a life of grace was bound to the Law.  The pie was restricted as it were.  But after our Lord’s Resurrection and Ascension, we entered an “abundance mentality” in terms of grace.  What an incredible life-changing and world-altering reality!  But how often do we let this impact of grace and its implications truly penetrate our being?

Let me tell you a story.  I was very close to my cousin as we grew up from the ages of 4-6.  She was my very best friend, and nothing was more important to me than spending time with her.  When we went to the same Catholic school for a time, I was faced with the reality of having to share her attention with others.  She was a year younger than I and she started to make some of her own friends.  I was so jealous that I would sharply kick and hit my beloved cousin over and over because I wanted her affection and attention to myself.  I was operating in a limited-resource mentality.  I was acting as if my cousin only had a given amount of love to share and if she had other friends, I was losing out.  How sad!  How ironic!  But I have grown since then, thank goodness, and I realize that love, like God’s grace, is not quantifiable or limited.

How do we live out the abundance mentality of grace?  First, we trust.  We never underestimate the power of God.  So often we utter the words that God can do anything, but do we live like we believe it to our very core? 

Secondly, we rejoice in the blessing of grace in others.  Unlike the six-year-old version of myself, we recognize that God wants to share his saving grace with every soul.  We truly desire the well-being and salvation of all and through our witness we can participate in that gift of grace. 

Lastly, we are people of optimism.  There are many challenges in our modern world that can deflate us, or bring us to despair, but when we live in the abundance mentality of grace, we never doubt that His power is far beyond any fruit of the fallen angels. 

Lord, your grace is truly enough for me, and let me seek nothing other!