7th October 2014

There’s a jibe made by New South Welshmen that Queensland’s resistance to daylight saving is grounded in the firm belief that a further hour of sunlight each day will fade the curtains. Evidently some two-headed, banana-bender misunderstood the term ‘daylight saving’.

Be that as it may, simple terms can be misunderstood. ‘Grace’ is one of those terms that has been confused through the ages by people even with only one head. Martin Luther thought that grace was something to be earned, and worked himself into a religious lather to obtain it, before he towelled off the lather and simply came by faith. At the other end of the spectrum, some have thought grace to be the doorway to autonomous freedom, where the response to God’s gift is a life that is obligation free.

Pity may be expressed in New South Wales as Queenslanders continue to resist the call for equal time zones during the seasons, but when it comes to misunderstanding grace, pity is an insufficient word. Sad to see a gold nugget on the ground, and to philosophize about how to pick it up, and in the delay to forfeit the treasure. Sad to receive an all-expenses paid grant to pursue further study, only to use it to top the scoreboard in League of Legends. And utterly tragic to hear the word grace, and to think merit or indulgence.

‘God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense’ remains still as one of the better definitions of the word ‘grace’. A gift to be received by faith, and a gift that obligates me to give my soul, my life, my all.

DM 7^th October 2014