“When it comes to our dependence on God, it is all grace or no grace. . . . it must be grace all the way down. We bring nothing to his relationship except our nothingness. . . . We bring our pit and he brings his rope.”- Jared C. Wilson
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ “- 2 Corinthians 12:9
In Chapter 9 (“Does Grace Go All the Way Down?”) of The Imperfect Disciple, Jared Wilson talks about the all-sufficiency of grace. Not only is God’s grace all-encompassing, Jared underscores, it’s grace all the way down (emphasis Jared’s).
Furthermore, Pastor Wilson sees verse 9 as the key verse, the key takeaway of 2 Corinthians 12:1-10. Also, Jared notes, the apostle Paul doesn’t define sufficiency as “good enough.” However, that’s how we usually explain the term. Therefore, when Paul defines grace as sufficient, he means that grace supplies all our need. Grace isn’t “fine,” but rather, more than enough. Jared goes on to explain:
“It is grace that goes all the way down through our self-sufficiency and our self-righteousness, exposing them as rusty, feeble scaffolding indeed. It goes all the way down to meet us at our realest self, at our most vulnerable self, in the reservoir of our soul, in the deepest, darkest valleys of our heart — in our weakness and in our suffering.”
In conclusion, Pastor Wilson states that grace goes all the way down to our deepest need. As a result, that means owning up to the reality that everything about us would blow apart without Christ. Thus, we need not fear our weakness, for it’s the only thing God works with. And the weaker we are, the stronger we discover Jesus to be.
Today’s question: How do you view your dependence on God – all grace or no grace? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Until God becomes our only hope”