God is not a Spare Tyre (Monday, Week 29, Year 2)

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In his exhortation to the people of Ephesus, St Paul makes a remark worthy to be reflected upon – “By grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God – not because of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). What St Paul was merely trying to achieve in this portion of the letter to the Ephesians is to make the Ephesians become more grace-conscious in their thinking, actions and inactions so that nobody would think that it was ONLY by His power or efforts that he or she became what he or she became. 

Grace is a supernatural gift of God. It is that power of God acting on and through our weakness and limitations. Whatever we are, whatever we have become is by grace, not just our own doing. If I am making progress in my moral life, it is not just by my own doing. It is because of the special intervention of God which we call GRACE. However, my efforts (my cooperation) are needed for that “special intervention” to be much more fruitful and effective. This is a reminder that would always help us to place God at the centre of our thinking, our actions and inactions. The lives and testimonies of great saints and our own experiences are enough to teach us that happiness comes when God is given the rightful place in our lives.

In the gospel reading (cf. Luke 12:13-21), this was what the rich man failed to understand. Yes, he was made rich or he became rich; and there is no indication that he became rich through fraudulent means. His one and only mistake is that he quickly forgot to give God (who made him rich) His rightful position in his life. He placed all his security on wealth as if God was no longer needed in his life. And that is why St Paul reminded the Ephesians who have now become new creatures in Christ that they should always be aware that they have been saved not just by their works but by the grace of God. They must be the most foolish of all peoples if they quickly forgot that.

We need to be constantly reminded that God is always at the vanguard of our life journey; and must be recognized as such. God is not a kind of spare tyre that can only be remembered when we have flat tyres on the road. Sometimes, we forget God in good times; but when we face difficulties, we want him to be on hand. That should not be our attitude.      




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