What’s So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey depicts grace rather than defines it outright. It communicates how desperate we and the rest of the world are for it.

Grace might not be commonly practiced, but it is just as needed in our world today.

We can only act on what we know. If our understanding of grace falls short of its true definition, then we need to expand our knowledge of what it really is. Part of our failure to live out grace is due to how little we have experienced it in our world. We abuse the grace of God to suit our own purposes, thereby revealing that we do not really appreciate how much God has forgiven us.

However, because grace is a power like no other, it can change the world. It already did at the cross of Christ, and when we learn how to practice it, we reflect the truly abundant heart of God. This will attract others to Him, especially when they see that we love even our enemies like this.

In this summary, you will learn:

  • that the mission of the church is to demonstrate grace;
  • what forgiveness looks like both individually and nationally; and
  • that grace is possible for even the worst of sinners.

We are all in need of grace in the truest sense of the word.

The word “grace” has somehow managed to maintain the essence of its meaning, while other words like “love” have been distorted by the world. All of us are thirsty for grace, every day, even every moment. It sets Christians apart from how the rest of the world operates, and yet often, the world perceives the church to be ungracious.

Simply put, grace is expensive for the one handing it out and completely free for the one who accepts it. Darkened hearts struggle to understand grace because they prefer to have only what they can fairly earn. It is the only type of exchange that makes sense to them.

Despite all the Bible does to describe grace, the church still has a problem with applying it to their daily lives. Sadly, it is far more common to hear a sermon where truth is emphasized rather than a message on grace. This means we are missing its effects in our lives and the world. Strict religious beliefs leave no room for grace, but that is often the primary experience most unbelievers have with Christians. We who should be forerunners of grace are those the world considers least likely to show it. The church could demonstrate grace through unity among believers or through humility towards outsiders, but neither manifestations are very typical.

It is not that any other religion has mastered grace. Even atheists invent ways to try to be superior through human efforts that only lead to failure. If grace cannot find its source from within a human soul, it must come from outside it.

Shame prevents us from being able to know grace. That shame could have its origin in our godless culture, in a legalistic version of Christianity, or even in a harsh upbringing. Grace does not seem to be present anywhere in our society or in any institution.

But if we look for it in beautiful moments, we still may find it present. We might encounter it in the way someone loves us or chooses us. Yet it is even more than that. We cannot ignore the fact that somehow grace is more than we have so far experienced in our lives. Though we do not deserve it and cannot earn it, we know we need it.

The grace of God defies our expectations.

Grace is unique to Christianity. Parables about it occupy many pages in the Gospels as Jesus conveys the Father’s love for His children. While we might anticipate that our rebellion would make Him hate us, Jesus communicates within these stories the deeper truth that the Father is ready to rejoice rather than punish when we return to Him. Because of how little we experience grace in the world, we have a difficult time believing that God could be so benevolent toward us. Yet when we are restored into fellowship with Him, God is immensely delighted. This is the God with whom we need to reconnect.

Jesus considered authenticity more important than morality. He extended grace to the one hanging next to Him at Calvary who recognized his need for a Savior. The thief’s salvation depended on Jesus and not an ounce of favor that he would have time to earn before his death. Jesus does not just wait for us to turn back to Him. He pursues us.

Grace does not perform under traditional rules of mathematics. For example, the widow who only put two coins into the offering somehow contributed more than the generous amounts of the wealthy. Jesus praises her for this.

Gifts, by definition, are not earned. It is a tremendous difficulty for us to accept that the only thing we have “earned” is our way to hell. Any mercy from God is kind and unmerited. We are not supposed to keep track of how many times we dispense grace to others. We forgive because of the huge debt of sin that Jesus paid for us.

In a way, God benefits from showing us grace. It allows Him to reconcile His deep desire for us and His holiness that separates us from Him. His compassion compels Him to lay aside anger He might feel at our waywardness.

Remember, it is not as if there was no price to pay. Jesus paid it for us because the Father refused to stay apart from us. In our minds, there is a certain number of times that Jesus would show us grace. When we hit that number, we lose hope. We forget that, at our core, God loves us. No efforts on our own, either for or against God, can alter His love for us. That is grace. We cannot perform our way into God’s grace despite what we might think or believe. Instead, we fully rely on Christ’s expensive actions on our behalf.

Join Holy Reads to read the rest of What’s So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey book summary.

Download the App here and access 1,000+ bestselling Christian book summaries in written, audio, and video formats