Gracious Works

What is the relationship between grace and works? Will everyone be equal in heaven? Or will some receive greater blessing than others? I've listened to both sides of this question. Some are adamant that grace is the great "leveller" under which nobody is greater than anyone else. Such preaching is sweet to our soul because it means God won't love some of the "great" Christians like Whitfield or Spurgeon. They are not "better" than us or more loved of God than us. On the other side, it definitely seems like Christ preaches that those who make greater sacrifices will receive greater blessing. Those who sow sparingly will also reap sparingly. When Christ is asked to reserve the two seats at His right and left hand He intimately links such a request to suffering.

So what's the answer? Are we equal under grace? Or do some receive greater rewards than others? I believe the answer is both. We are equal. We all desperately need saving. We are wicked beyond comprehension and need a Savior to rescue us from sin. BUT, we do NOT all work with the same level of intensity after salvation has been wrapped around us. Once again, think of us as cups. Some of us are big, some are small, some are mere thimbles. That's how we're all different. Varying sizes. BUT the same beverage is poured into us. Namely, the love of Christ. It's not that some of us are more loved or less loved than others but that we can more completely understand that love. That love is more or less precious to us. Some of us have relatively easy lives here on earth. We don't suffer martyrdom or vicious lies being told about us. Our faith in Christ is real but the greatest thing we suffer for it is a more cramped financial lifestyle and the struggle to pray and pursue God every day. On the other side of the camp we have people like Jim Elliott, Nate Saint, Haralan Popov, and Richard Wurmbrandt who payed a very high cost for their faith in Christ. Now these men were not more loved by God but they had a more dreadful time living for Him than we do. The worse our experience in this life, the more we treasure the love of God. The more poverty we have in this world, the more we'll treasure the riches we have in the next. The drier the desert, the more desired the Promised Land. We're all loved by God and we're all deeply indebted with a debt that we can't ever pay off but we're NOT all undergoing equal suffering for our faith in Christ.

So if you want to receive blessing in greater amounts in the next life, pursue the more difficult path in this life. Blessing is linked to suffering. You won't be more loved by God, but you'll treasure that love more. You can be a HUGE cup or a thimble. The choice is up to you by the grace of God.

I accept that there may be a LOT of disagreement with this note. I'm not even sure it's all theologically intact. So I welcome any thoughts or feedback. Thanks, guys!