From Brad Wilcox, his book ‘Changed Through Grace’
Robert Robinson was a small boy in the 1730s when his father died and he had to work to help support the family. As a teenager he fell in with a bad group of friends and live a wild and worldly lifestyle. One day Robert and his buddies heard that a renowned minister was scheduled to preach in a nearby church, and they decided to attend and heckle him. When the preacher began, however, Robert was captivated by his sermon, and instead heckling, he left the meeting determined to repent.
At the age of twenty, Robert set out to become a minister himself. Two years later, in 1757, he wrote a hymn expressing gratitude for the divine grace that helped him change his misguided life: “Come thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace; Streams of mercy never ceasing call for songs of loudest praise” (churchofjesuschrist.org/music/text).
My favorite line in this text is, “O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be?” Robinson recognized he was in debt to God for His grace. King Benjamin taught his people the same principle and told them that even if they tried to repay God by keeping commandments, they would still be unprofitable servants. The minute they obeyed, God would bless them and they would be “indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever” (Mosiah 2:24).
Both Robert Robinson and King Benjamin emphasized our indebtedness to God, but what we must understand clearly is that God couldn’t care less about getting paid back. His joy found in seeing us value His gift. Receiving grace is like receiving a scholarship. It doesn’t guarantee learning. It facilitates it. The scholarship donor doesn’t want the money back. He or she wants it utilized.
Levels of Grace
When my grandchildren are born, one of the first things I do for them is present them with their first books and read to them. I want them surrounded with books and language and love from day one! As the children have grown I have continued to read to them, and now some are old enough to read books to me—which I love. When they do, I hug them and promptly give them more books!
These interactions help me understand how God gives us grace: “I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept. . . ; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more” (2 Nephi 28:30). Brad Wilcox, ~Brad Wilcox, Changed Through His Grace, (Deseret Book, Salt Lake City) 72-74 (437)
The parable of the talents can have many interpretations, including the development of gifts and talents and preparing for the Second Coming. My daughter Whitney explained it to me how it can also be viewed as a parable about receiving grace. 1 Now when I read Matthew 25, I no longer think of money or abilities. I think of books: And unto one he gave five books, to another two books, and to another one book. The first two read their books and the Lord said, “Well done. You have read a few books. I will now give you more. Enter into my library!” The third servant didn’t care about his book so the lord ended up taking it away—not because he was being mean or punishing the servant. He took the book away because the servant had already tossed it aside. What good is a book to one who refuses to read? Many missionaries have felt the pain of giving away a copy of the Book of Mormon only to see it discarded by the recipient. This choice says more about the person receiving it than about the missionaries or about the book. In the parable, even if the lord had welcomed the third servant into his library, the servant would not have valued anything there. Until he had changed his attitude, additional books would have been more of a burden than blessing.
So it is with grace. “For unto him who receiveth it shall be given more abundantly, even power” (Doctrine and Covenants 71:6). But “from them that shall say, “We have enough, from them shall be taken even that which they have” (2 Nephi 28:30). ~Brad Wilcox, Changed Through His Grace, (Deseret Book, Salt Lake City) .~Brad Wilcox, Changed Through His Grace, (Deseret Book, Salt Lake City)
