Karning Clod's Grace Still, the race of man includes uany foots. And some . I these have tried to do tiie in possible, to earn the infinite grace of God One way they haw tried is to buy it- A lifelong rascal s conscience will finally begin to hurt him. and so to get God on his side he wilt build a cathedral or endow an orphanage or pour money into some church treasury, hoping that God will overlook the villainous ways in which he earned the money because of the pious way in which he spends it Other in< n ia little more on the "religious" side) seem to think they can sweet-talk God into being then friend. They would not put it that way; they would say that God will listen to their many prayers Do they not regularly attend prayer meetings, or early communions, and should not God he expected to do something for them in rrtuii Others, again, hope that God can be made to feel so sorry for them that he will pour out on them his special grace. If they do not have natural troubles they w ■" make artificial troubles for them selves. They will go w ithout proper food and clothing, they will wear hair shirts or iron chains around their waists, they will roll on beds of spikes or go without baths for years and years. But God s grace does not go to the highest bidders; it does not go to the most long winded prayers, it is not offered as a reward for self-inflicted wounds God's grace must be taken as a gift or not at all. * • * ('■rare and Gratitude Then does it make no difference what we do'.’ Will God he just good to us. no matter what" Shall we even "do evil that grace may abound." that is. shall we make God s grace even more gracious by being as bad as w e can br ’ Not by any means The truly good life is not a way of earning the grace of God; it is a way of re sponding to the grace of God Pome one has said that religion is 'gratitude. Religion is our re sponse to God. not his to us. Re ligion is our reply tc the infinite goodness of the Almighty, not his reply to our part-way. badly mixed and human goodness. Indeed, the goer) life is more than a lifelong act of gratitude; the good life it self is the effect of God s grace <Ra«ell on AUllIrrs rnpt rllhlel bv Ihr nirlalAn *f C hristian l-doratlon Ny 11 a n s I C'AttArll Af ths ( hurrhrv nf < hrl'-l Ia l hr C.S.A. Rfleasf d bv WNl jrtatdMi-) ,

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