I was upgraded to Business Class on a recent flight. I didn’t even know it had happened. As I shuffled down the corridor of the plane, looking for my seat, I thought I must have been in the first row of the economy section (what I affectionately call “Cattle Class”).

To my surprise I was on the last row of Business Class and was unexpectedly enjoying all the benefits of the upgrade.

Now, I had only paid for Cattle Class. In fact, I’d paid with mileage points from earlier flights, so I didn’t actually pay for the flight at all (except for the taxes – and haven’t they gone up in recent years!). I didn’t deserve the better seats, choice of food, added benefits, and so on. It was mine by pure grace from the airline.

Overwhelming Grace

As I settled back into the chair and caught up with the surprise benefits, I got to thinking about how much this is like our experience of salvation from God. God offers us a free upgrade.

God gives us the most spectacular upgrade you could ever imagine. Our mortal life is upgraded to “Eternal Life“! And the benefits last longer than one plane flight.

God’s grace is an overwhelming grace! It overwhelms us with its impact.

Our life cursed with misery, sin and iniquity is upgraded to Eternal Life, Sonship in God’s Family, the infilling of the Holy Spirit, the Fruit of the Spirit, Truth that sets us free, and just so much more.

Wow! What an Upgrade!

It is All Grace

It was no use me trying to offer money to the air hostess for my upgraded flight. I did not need to buy the Business Class ticket; it was already given to me.

There was no need for to me to pay the airline back or give them some free publicity or anything. The transaction was all ‘grace’. It wasn’t a business deal. It wasn’t a con, or a perk to induce me to book 20 years of flying with them. It was given to me independently of my response.

I could have objected and demanded a cattle class seat. I could have insulted the staff as I left the plane. I could have written blog posts about how I was tricked into a free Business Class seat. What ever my reaction it made no difference. The seat was assigned to me, as an act of the airline’s grace.

Grace means I did not deserve it and did not earn it. And I did not need to pay it back. It is all grace.

And that’s how it is with our salvation. It is all grace. We get an amazing upgrade and don’t have to pay for it. We aren’t expected to become a priest or enter a monastery or work for four years on the mission-field to pay for our upgrade. We are simply expected to enjoy it.

I Like That

I said, “Thank you, Lord, for this unexpected upgrade to Business Class. And thank you for the much more wonderful upgrade to Eternal Life.”

It’s an awesome thing to get what you don’t deserve and enjoy what is reserved for others.

I don’t deserve Eternal Life. I don’t deserve to be a Son of God. I don’t deserve eternity in God’s presence. But I have a free upgrade! Hallelujah!