Without Expectations

At first I thought maybe I had heard something that was not being said so I listened more intently to the one in the pulpit.  "Every grace comes with an expectation."  The theme of the sermon was spoken too many times to be ignored which, of course, was the intent of the one preaching.  I kept listening not really believing what I was hearing and then as the sermon reached its conclusion, he said, "God invests in us and He has expectations."  

My problem comes because of a definition of grace.  My statement about grace would be, "Grace comes with no expectations."  I have come to be who I am believing that God's grace requires nothing from us.  It does not require a certain moral lifestyle.  It does not require a disciplined spiritual life.  It does not require any act of service.  It does require expectations.  Grace comes with no strings.  No expectations.  It is freely and unconditionally given.  What I do, or do not do, or what I promise to do has no bearing on the grace of God.  

Grace is not about one gift being given with the expectation that one will be given in return.  It is true that the cross where Jesus died speaks of a gift of love from our Father God, but it also speaks about the grace in His heart which He gives to us.  Jesus' death upon the cross requires nothing from us to be a means of salvation.  Through our faith, that salvation may be experienced, but should we choose not to respond in faith, it would not change what God has done for us.  Because of His love and grace, a way has been made for us to be at one with Him again.  The choosing may be up to us, but the giving has always been His to do.