The Dinosaur in VLSB

It was 12:39PM, and I was still making my way down to VLSB; lecture was starting in less than a minute. Upon entering, I hastily marched into the atrium and navigated through different hallways, eyeing for room numbers and arrow signs until I reached the doors of classroom 2050.

After lecture, I stepped out and sighed a mixed breath of relief and defeat, having realized that I couldn’t comprehend anything the professor was discussing. The only thing my brain could grasp onto were fancy CS terms like “semaphores” and “mutex” that meant nothing to me. I began walking back through the hallways, tracing where I initially came before something caught my eye: a massive skeleton dinosaur replica stood at the base of the winding stairs. Despite walking past it countless times over the past couple years, I never offered it much attention or thought; yet this time I was intrigued. I descended the spiral staircase and stood before the tall figure, gazing in awe at the impressive details of the T-Rex. The different shades of the spine, elegantly arched curvature of the ankle bones, and noticeably unique teeth manifested a marvelous spectacle.

Like that conspicuous sculpture, God’s grace is on full display in our daily lives. It presents itself on the glade, giving the green grass color and life, hosting ice cream socials with consulting clubs, and radiating optimism to touring families. It upholds the musical notes of the Campanile bells and guides it by the laws of physics to travel through the air and into the ears of students all across campus. It envelops our friend groups and families, supplying desires of love and warmth and restraining anger and impatience. From the moment we get out of bed to the moment we doze off, there is never a moment when God’s grace is not present before our very eyes. In the atrium of God’s creation is everything “good”: beauty, love, nature, community, intelligence.

And like the T-Rex of VLSB, God’s grace is free of charge, open for all to enjoy. Grace ignores our good and bad merits; it simply keeps giving.

God chooses to show mercy, withhold punishment, confine sin, and grant countless, non-redeeming blessings upon sinners. He gives us a free premium pass to the world he created.

Unfortunately, God’s common grace, like the large, compulsively detailed T-Rex, often evades our attention. It is more convenient for us to set our eyes on and allocate our mental energy to scoring high on our next midterm, pursuing our career checkpoint, or running to our next lecture hall. God’s glory disappears from our radar as we idolize our work and glorify our achievements and treat these things as a pathway to our own version of grace. We seek to bestow blessings upon ourselves through our unfulfilling ambitions and goals, failing to recognize God as our sole provider.

Ironically, it feels fruitless to be thankful when grace is so constantly and readily available. We are surrounded by His grace, yet we either hide ourselves from its implications or we unconsciously fail to attribute goodness to Him. God’s grace slowly fades out of our view, His light grows dim, and we are consumed by the darkness of the world. Grace and blessings are reduced down to nothing but random, tuned-out highlights of life.

What then is the point of grace? If this grace fails to provide satisfaction, comfort, and salvation to our souls, then does it have an actual purpose? Grace is stationary and merely an amenity to life. The endless supply of grace seemingly sits idly, powerless as we inattentively walk by.

Is grace dead?

Fortunately not quite so. Grace does not exist as static, dead blessings. Grace is alive. It is wild and on the loose. It roams the Earth in search of us and moves us at our core. It seeks out our hearts, and runs through its tall, hard walls. It touches, softens, and regenerates the disobedient heart and prepares it for a renewed life of meaning and purpose. Its hands mold the obedient heart daily towards greater joy and desire for Him. And it physically lifts God’s children up into His arms and makes them perfect.

The liberator of grace is Jesus Christ, whose spirit restlessly supplies this new type of redemptive grace. Unlike the blessings of the world, this grace comforts us and blesses us eternally. It leads us in righteousness, shrinking us away from evil desires and growing us towards Christ-likeness. It writes the laws on our hearts and helps us obey them. It triumphs over unsatisfactory ambition and vain labor.

By placing our faith in His redemptive work, we become recipients of His presently active work and hence become capable of recognizing all of His work. We are given a thankful heart and we praise Him for his visible and free grace. The sustainer of the green grass on the glade is also the sustainer of our souls. The aerodynamic mediator of the musical notes ringing from the Campanile acts as our mediator between us and the Father. The provider of love to us and our communities is love Himself.

And in the VLSB T-Rex replica, we are reminded of God’s grace: prevalent and free, but certainly not dead.