Why Isn't Grace Enough?

This question was posted on the Worldwide Unified Facebook group a few months ago, and it has been on my mind ever since. Many Christian religions believe all that is required is accepting Christ's gift of grace. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints accepts Christ's grace and also has a strong belief in the need for works in addition to grace as stated in 2 Nephi 25:23. "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do."

I was thinking about this question again last week on Christmas Eve as I walked through a junkyard for the first time ever. My husband and I had some shopping to finish at the grocery store. He mentioned he needed to grab some parts for my son's car. I figured it would be a quick stop at an auto parts store, but I was wrong. I wore warm clothes but was dressed in nicer boots with a heel which was not ideal for walking around on the dirty, muddy, uneven junkyard ground. As I watched these men wandering around in grungy clothes I thought of how odd and out of place I must look.

 
I realized that while I felt uncomfortable there an upper-class businessman or woman dressed for a fancy party would feel even more uncomfortable there. The men in the yard would also feel very out of place at a fancy office party in their attire. In fact, even if they washed and dressed up they would likely still stick out like a sore thumb.

 
This is why work and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is required. As you scroll through the photos in this post you will see beauty can be found in the junkyard, but it is still a junkyard. Just as I didn't belong in a junkyard (other than to retrieve the parts) we can't live in beautiful places and still reside in a junkyard. It's not where the royal family of God belongs. We are literally sons and daughters of God, but we must learn the ways of God. Just as royalty is groomed for the throne, we must be groomed for the royal family of God.

 
As we are reminded in Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord." Just as an Olympic athlete has to train for their Olympic Event or a concert Pianist has to practice for hours and hours we too must practice living the law of the Lord. If we don't we will never feel comfortable with allowing the grace of God to cleanse us enough to live in the presence of our Savior and our Father in Heaven. Our works will never cleanse us. Only Christ's atonement will do that! They will, however, teach us the proper way and prepare us to live as the Kings and Queens, Priests and Priestesses we were born to become.

 
Until that day we will rely on his grace and continue to work on becoming as he is!
I wish a Happy New Year to you all!


With Love, Marlies