Steve Brown tells a story about a time his daughter Robin found herself in a very difficult English Literature course that she desperately wanted to get out of.
She sat there on her first day and thought, “If I don’t transfer out of this class, “Of course.”
So the next day he took her down to the school and went to the head of the English department, who was a Jewish woman and a great teacher. Steve remembers the event in these words:
She (the head of the English department) looked up and saw me standing there by my daughter and could tell that Robin was about to cry. There were some students standing around and, because the teacher didn’t want Robin to be embarrassed, she dismissed the students saying, “I want to talk to these people alone.” As soon as the students left and the door was closed, Robin began to cry. I said, “I’m here to get my daughter out of that English class. It’s too difficult for her. The problem with my daughter is that she’s too conscientious. So, can you put her into a regular English class?” The teacher said, “Mr. Brown, I understand.” Then she looked at Robin and said, “Can I talk to Robin for a minute?” I said, “Sure.” She said, “Robin, I know how you feel. What if I promised you and A no matter what you did in the class? If I gave you an A before you even started, would you be willing to take the class?” My daughter is not dumb! She started sniffling and said, “Well, I think I could do that.” The teacher said, “I’m going to give you and A in the class. You already have an A, so you can go to class.”
Later the teacher explained to Steve what she had done. She explained how she took away the threat of a bad grade so that Robin could learn English. Robin ended up making straight A‘s on her own in that class.
That’s how God deals with us. Because we are, right now, under the completely sufficient imputed righteousness of Christ, Christians already have an A. The threat of failure, judgment, and condemnation has been removed. We’re in–forever! Nothing we do will make our grade better and nothing we do will make our grade worse. We’ve been set free.
Knowing that God’s love for you and approval of you will never be determined by your performance for Jesus but Jesus’ performance for you will actually make you perform more and better, not less and worse. In other words, grace mobilizes performance; performance does not mobilize grace.
If you don’t believe me, ask Robin!
HT: Tullian Tchividjian
Truly excellent!
I am always amazed how the Lord can teach his children valuable lessons about himself and our relationship to him through the ordinary happenings of life. Back in the mid 80’s my oldest daughter was in the 5th grade and had always been an A & B student. But by mid-term of that school year her grades were sliding to Ds and a few Cs. I assess the situation as an attitude and effort failure on her part with some rebellion at the core of it. So I began to discipline her including the rod.
She had a major test coming up in one of her subjects and I worked with her until I was absolutely sure she was well prepared to make no less than a B with a good chance of an A. I called my wife from work the next afternoon to find out what our daughter had made on the test. With some hesitation she said Fran had failed the test. Anger exploded on the inside of me. In my mind Fran knew the material, so that F was just her way of getting back at me for disciplining her. I told my wife that I would deal with our daughter when I got home, intending to use the rod.
I sat there in my office stewing over the failed test and wondering why the discipline I was administering was not producing the results I expected. All of a sudden, deep in my heart, the Lord asked me this question, “Loddie, are you now ready to do it my way?” My immediate response back to the Lord was, “Your way? I thought I was doing it your way!” And I quickly began to quote God’s own words back to him. “Have you not said, to spare the rod is to hate your child, to strike the child with the rod and not withhold correction, and that the rod will deliver a child from hell?” The Lord interrupted me and said, “No Loddie, what you are doing is using my word devoid of my Spirit. When you do that you are administering death and not life for the letter kills but the Spirit gives life. With Fran you are making performance the basis of your acceptance. But that is NEVER my way.”
It was like scales dropped from my eyes and I clearly saw and understood that I had been making Fran’s grades the basis of my acceptance of her. I knew immediately what I had to do. I got home from work and walked into the kitchen and asked my wife where Fran was. She told me Fran was waiting in our bedroom for me. As I walked into the bedroom there sat this little girl on the edge of the bed, bent over, looking down at the floor, with tear drops falling from her cheeks. I was so ashamed that I had brought my daughter to such a state of fear and sense of rejection. The pain I felt was so intense, like a large sword had pierced my heart. I went over and sat down beside Fran and put my arm around her. I told her the Lord has spoken to me and said the problem here was with me and not with her. That I had made her grades the basis of my acceptance and that was wrong. I reassured her of my love and acceptance irrespective of her grades. I told her to just do her best and if that resulted in Cs & Ds then it would just be that way but she would always be loved and accepted as my daughter. We sat there for some time just embracing one another.
From that moment on things began to change in school. Can’t explain why but by the end of the school year her grades were back up to As and Bs. God’s acceptance is unconditional. Performance is never the basis of his acceptance. Before Jesus ever worked a miracle or began his ministry the Lord was well-pleased with him, just because he was his beloved son. We are loved and accepted as was Christ because we are the children of our Heavenly Father. Such peace and joy does that unconditional acceptance fill the heart with of a true child of God. To God be the glory forever.
Thanks for sharing Loddie. I am sure many parents can relate to your story.