Grace is like electricity. This is what a good friend reminded me of lately when he compared a Christian life to a vacuum cleaner. Let me explain.
The Christian’s justification occurs when we are initially “born again” and become a part of the family of God. The Christian’s sanctification occurs over the course of our lives after conversion, as we seek to obey Jesus and become more like him.
Justification is entirely by God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8-9), whereas sanctification can be trickier as it seems to be a mix of grace and effort (Ephesians 2:10). Personally, I've always had a difficult time balancing grace and effort in my sanctification process. This little analogy has helped though.
So how does grace work in our sanctification (or journey towards Christ-likeness)?
This is where the vacuum cleaner analogy comes in. My friend shared that a vacuum is useless unless it is plugged into an energy source; and, likewise, Christians have no power unless they are plugged into (or “connected with”) Jesus Christ. Furthermore, what gives power to the vacuum is electricity – just as the power imbued to us through Christ is called grace.
Jesus himself said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
That does not mean that effort on our part is unnecessary though. Like the vacuum that sits there with no one to push it, it cannot accomplish that which it was made for. As Dallas Willard put it,
“Grace is not opposed to effort; it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action.”
Paul also said, "...I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me." 1 Corinthians 15:10
However, we can expend a lot of effort to push a vacuum cleaner around the entire house but it will accomplish nothing unless it is plugged in: only then can it perform that which it was designed to do.
Similarly, as Christians, we can put all our strength and effort into becoming more like Jesus and still feel like we are failing. Why? Because only grace can accomplish what we are designed for.
In the Christian experience, grace without effort will never allow us to reach our full potential or to glorify God as he deserves (I Corinthians 3:10-13). But, ultimately, effort is meaningless without grace.
I was struck by this recently while reading an interview with a theologian.
“When I sin, I still often tell God, ‘I’m sorry. *I’ll* do better next time.”, he said. “Of course, that is not a wrong desire…but these days, I’ve changed the prayer:
‘God, I’m sorry. I’m totally powerless over this. Will *you* give me strength to change?”
Its true that there is still some mystery about how grace and effort work together in our sanctification; but when I acknowledge that I’m a helpless sinner and truly rely on God’s grace to sanctify my life, that’s when I really plug in to the power source.
"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16
