The "Good Girl" Profile



"What does ‘grace’ mean?” 

My challenge reverberated across the scuffed island counter as my coworker riffled through an apparently-neglected corner of her brain. Her expression of curiosity and apprehension reminded me of the way she approached our bait shop’s cold, slimy minnows.

Her sculpted eyebrows tightened around blue eyes that matched the dark lake across the highway. “You know, we talk about grace all the time at church. But… I really don’t know.”

It was hour three of the late shift at the neighborhood gas station and general store. By now, chalking up my second summer here, I knew that this was the ideal time to take a short break. So when the younger girl I was working with brought up the topic of pastors and her church confirmation, I took the plunge into the deep end of conversation.

Based on data I had compiled over previous shifts, Kelsey fit the profile of a stereotypical “good girl.” Near the very top of her class, partying and drugs weren’t even on her high school dashboard. She went to church on Sundays, worked hard, and wasn’t afraid to voice her opinions about the rag-tag crowd that frequented our rural store. 

So when I asked if she knew she was going to heaven for sure, I wasn’t too surprised by her confident answer. “Oh, yes! I’d say I’m going to heaven.”

Still, I prodded. “So you know for sure then?”

“Well, when you say ‘know’, I guess maybe not.” That’s more like it. My poking was clearly stirring up long-buried embers of doubt.  No, she hadn’t ever really considered how a person gained eternal life in the first place. Shrugging casually, she regurgitated a cliché about being a good person and trying your best.

“Wait a minute!” I tipped my chin. “So how good is good enough? Do you really think God would send you to Heaven and your friend to Hell because she committed one more sin than you? How does that even work?” Facing the muckiness of her philosophy, Kelsey was finally reaching for straight answers.

As we reviewed the facts of God’s holiness and His standard of perfection, her “good girl” facade started wobbling. Her goodness was relative, based on other people. Eventually, we came to the point that from God’s perspective, no one is good. No one.

And that’s where grace came in. “Kelsey, have you ever thought about why Jesus Christ had to die?”

She hadn’t. I explained that Christ had to die because in God’s justice system, death (separation) is the only satisfactory payment for sin. Someone had to pay, so instead of condemning mankind for all eternity, God satisfied His love and justice perfectly by pouring out his wrath on his Son.

Then I remembered: I have a Bible app on my phone! Maybe this new smart phone wasn't so bad. Locating Ephesians 2:8-9, I asked her to read my favorite verses out loud:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
We dissected key words…grace, gift, works. “’Grace’ is from the Greek word ‘charis’, meaning ‘unmerited and undeserved favor’. It wouldn't be consistent with God's grace if heaven was an earned reward for those worthy. In fact, faith (trust or reliance) is the only response consistent with grace (Romans 11:6)."

A few more illustrations, and light was replacing the confusion in her eyes. “Wow. That is so cool! I never even thought about it that way.” 

Sliding over to the book of John, I offered “Here! I’ll show you another verse.” 
Together, we read the familiar words in verses 16-18 of chapter 3:  
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
God’s grace is limitless and for everyone—even for a supposed “good girl”. Now that’s refreshing.

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