God’s Grace Verses the Law of Karma

Many of us today have a somewhat misguided perception of God’s permissive will and it has caused many of us to question the character of our God.  Literally, there are people who do not know God, nor do they have a relationship with Him, yet they claim to have knowledge of His tendencies.  Their logical interpretation of God gives them a false sense of understanding how good and evil impact our lives.  Christians and non-Christians are aware of Galatians 6:7 or some version of it.  It simply says, “you reap what you sow.”  

Many have generally understood this to mean that good comes from good and bad comes from bad.  A logical interpretation of this scripture then allows us to assume that good things happen to good people and if something bad happens, you must have done something to deserve it.  We look at the blessings that God has afforded us and believe that we somehow deserve His favor as a reward for being “good Christians.”  We also assume that our misfortunes are a direct result of the sins we have committed.  This way of thinking has become known as the spiritual law of karma.
    
This type of thinking can be detrimental to your faith because our physical, mental, or financial situations cannot serve as a sufficient gauge for your relationship with God.  Furthermore, our salvation does not exempt us from troubles, trials, tribulations, or tragedies.  We must come to the realization that our God is intentional in everything He does, and every trial does not require us to examine our walk.  As Paul besought God concerning the thorn in his side, God simply told him that His Grace was sufficient for him.  Grace is what cancels out the law of karma.  Grace has afforded us some opportunities we did not deserve.  Grace also protected us from some punishments that should have befell us.  

Galatians 6:7 is to be understood as a general truth like the book of Proverbs rather than an exact truth.  Although we often observe the misfortunes of those who may not deserve them, we must remember that God uses trials to make us stronger spiritually and emotionally.  He also has an interesting way of turning our tragedies into triumphs!  So, as we consider this passage, we should not examine the wrong doings of others, while praying they receive a heavy return of the evil they pour out.  We should pray that God’s grace intervenes with salvation reigning as the fruit of its intentions.  If we were to examine the deep, dark corners of our memory banks, I am sure we would find some secrets that never saw the light of day due to God’s grace.  

Because of salvation, repentance, and God’s forgiveness, those secrets have been forgiven and forgotten.  There are many of us who can share the testimony that we did not reap what we have sown because of God’s grace!