Trophies of Grace

Do you remember the feeling of receiving a trophy when you were a kid? I’m sure you were so proud when you heard your name called. Those little tee ball, soccer and maybe a gymnastic trophy meant so much to the little hearts.

I wasn’t very athletic as a kid. Let me rephrase that. I’m still not very athletic, but I can try hard. The fact is there weren't teams for young kids when I was growing up, and especially for girls. So there are no tee ball for soccer trophies of mine sitting in a box gathering dust. 

I do have some music awards, and medals somewhere, and those 1s were very special. I also have a trophy from my Arkansas School Boards Association days. That one is on a shelf in my home office.

I honestly think we still have some of the boys’ trophies in boxes in the garage. I’m pretty sure if we took the time to go through them, they would say, “You can recycle that one now, or throw it away.”

How sad that makes me feel. Especially if earning that award was the only thing a person had to focus on. That’s why it’s important to me to focus on serving God and the rewards will be eternal —  I don't have to store them, dust them (I really don’t!) or try to remember the receiving circumstances.

Have you ever thought about the fact we are human trophies of grace to God? Just as we are proud of our children and grandchildren, God is so proud of us. He loves us no matter what “game” we win or lose, or how we perform. 

There are some human lives that are living trophies of God’s grace. Grace is defined as the good things God gives us that we don’t deserve —  such as salvation. Our yucky sinful nature, even when we try hard not to sin, is still just as filthy rags to God. Only when we accept His perfect Son, Jesus Christ as our Savior can God look on us as beautiful trophies. 

I’ve seen some people who were just a mess many years ago —  before they accepted Christ. They are still dealing with the scars of that sinful lifestyle, but they are beautiful polished trophies in God’s eyes. He values their life and helps them overcome the past that still wants to haunt them.

Think about the Bible heroes we have the privilege of reading about. The only perfect person in the whole Bible was Jesus Christ. Adam failed to lead his family and provide a safety net from evil. (Yes, Eve was probably a liberated woman and only wanted to do what she wanted to do … but they had a messy marriage.) Abraham asked his wife to lie twice and say she was his sister. That half-truth caused a lot of people problems. Jacob tricked his blind father with a bowl of stew and stole his brother’s birthright. Joseph was the braggadocious little brother and got himself exiled to Egypt. Samson was a mess of lusty desires. Saul was a murderer and then became the author of several New Testament books in the Bible as Paul. The list can go on and on. But the point is, each of these individuals became shiny trophies of grace to add to God’s collection. 

Even my beloved school board and newspaper awards will go by the wayside someday. But the investments into my children, grandchildren and people in the community will not be a discarded heap in the trash can of life.

Work hard for the trophies that will still be valuable in eternity. I’m glad we don’t have to “work” for our salvation. It’s a free gift. I couldn’t be perfect enough for ten minutes, even if I tried really really hard. But it is fun to honor God with my worship and praise. He is so amazing and awesome. Not only with the intricacies of the human body, but our solar system and the rest of Creation. 

Just dwell on one of those points for a few minutes and you will be in awe that a God who has done all of that still has time to talk to you, lead you in the direction you should go, and share the plans He has for your life. 

I saw this poster recently, “Grace is when God gives us good things that we don’t deserve. Mercy is when He spares us from bad things we deserve. Blessings are when He is generous with both. Truly, we can never run out of reasons to thank Him. God is good all the time.”