Is Utah a “State of Grace?” Judging from the interest in fine arts, music, theater, ballet, symphony, and other forms of entertainment, the answer is yes—at least in the secular sense. You can make a case that this is true also in the religious sense with Salt Lake City being headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and with strong representation in most other religions. The word ‘grace’ has several meanings both in religion and secular applications.
The Greek word Charis, translates well to mean Grace, also Charisma; a person may be said to be Charismatic. Grace in a religious sense has much to do with the love of our Father in Heaven, as well as how we react to that love. In the New Testament, “Grace signifies the unmerited operation of God in the heart of man, affected through the operation of the Holy Spirit.”
Other derivative words of Grace are – Gracious, Gratitude and Grateful. When we want to express gratitude for not being caught in a disaster we might say: “There but for the grace of God go I.” There are many other circumstances when we are grateful, often for a joyous reason. One means of expressing gratitude is in charitable giving. People in Utah have the highest rate of charitable giving in the USA. Salt Lake City has the highest rate among large cities. Interestingly, three states in New England – Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont have the lowest rates of giving and also lead the nation in decline of Church attendance. People in Utah give four times the rate of those in the three bottom states.
Though Utah has a good record of giving, you wouldn’t suspect that to be so judging from reading the newspapers or watching TV news, there seems to be no end to reports of home-grown murder, drug trafficking, sex abuse and other forms of mayhem. Seems good and evil exist side by side.
Despite the evil in the world, there is good in mankind brought about by our belief in a kind and generous God who’s grace blesses us. An 18th century minister, John Newton, who had spent much of his early life drifting from one wretched endeavor to another; at his lowest point he thought of murder or suicide, but he was lucky enough to be shown the light and turned his life around. His epiphany came during a brutal storm at sea when his life was saved. He became a renowned evangelical minister, an example of someone who is good and true and even wrote one of the worlds’ most beloved religious songs, “Amazing Grace”, a powerful song of thanksgiving.
Our senses might send us a feeling of grace of a non-traditional religious nature. This might be felt sitting in a Bear River duck-blind on a foggy morning or on an autumn evening in the Wasatch Mountains around a campfire during deer season after a day of stalking through the forest, or listening to the prayerful sounds of French horns infusing rich symphonic sound in a Wagner or Beethoven symphony. In any case, grace is a gift of God that we are privileged to receive from a loving and generous Father.
Belief in God is essential to receiving God’s graces. You may have drawn a circle around your beliefs that excludes God; but, you may be surprised someday to find that He has drawn a larger circle that includes you. Christians believe that Jesus Christ plays an essential part in our receiving God’s grace. Pastor Dave in North Ogden has a way of reminding his congregation of this using the acronym G.R.A.C.E. - Gods Riches at Christ’s Expense, to illustrate the point.
Though we may not be perfect in this Great State of Utah, we do have an abundance of good people who are trying their best to live their lives by the Golden Rule and according to the two Greatest Commandments – loving God with all our heart, mind and soul and loving our neighbors as ourselves. During the holiday season, it would be a good time to remember the ultimate meaning of grace.
Sources: “Systematic Theology” by Louis Berkhof 1949, “Expository Dictionary of Bible Words”, Lawrence O. Richards, “Then Sings My Soul”, Robert J. Morgan
