Mysterious Grace

Today I was volunteered to be a part of a panel facilitated by Rev. Stover in the Contemporary Service.  Reflections on Matthew 20 - The Parable of the Laborers.

When asked about what is "fair", I responded with the pie example.  You can either cut the pie and I get the choice of the piece to select or allow me to cut the pie and you get to choose the first piece.  Equal choice either way. 

Yet each laborer was fairly asked to work for a wage and they readily accepted.  Why did they grumble at the end?  Because they saw their perception of inequality when comparing their effort to the other guy.  This is the basic problem of knowledge, bias and judgement.

I said I struggled with the concept of Grace - it doesn't fit mathematical or economic logic. It is not something earned. Fair is when we receive what we think we deserve.  Grace is when we receive what we don't deserve.

Grace is mysterious to me because it is infinite and can't be measured. Grace is uniquely available to all of us - in exactly the "quantity" we need - no more .... no less.  So we should accept Grace as it it given, not measuring or comparing, but grateful to God for it's infinite benefit for all of us.