I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. 1 Peter 5:12

The Golden Gate Bridge over San Francisco Bay was constructed from January 5, 1933 to May 28, 1937. It’s towers stand 746 feet off the surface of the water. At one point construction fell badly behind schedule because several workers had accidentally fallen off the bridge to their deaths. The tentativeness of the workers slowed down the productivity of the entire project. Safety became such an important issue that one of the workers suggested constructing a giant net to catch anyone who fell. 

Chief engineer and renowned bridge builder Joseph Strauss was already a pioneer in construction safety with innovations that included mandatory hard hats and daily sobriety tests, but it was the Great Depression, funds were scarce and a net seemed to many to be excessive. 

Finally, in spite of the enormous cost, Strauss opted to construct a net. A huge and costly safety net was suspended under the floor of the bridge from end to end. During construction, the net saved the lives of 19 men who became known as the “Half-Way-to-Hell Club.” 

Ultimately, all the time lost to fear was regained by replacing fear with faith in the net. Construction workers could work freer and with greater confidence knowing that the net was there. 

What a wonderful picture of the purpose of God’s grace! His grace saves us from certain death and destruction to be sure. But, there is an even deeper and more abiding purpose of grace for the believer. People who only experience God’s grace for salvation are really only getting half the package. Grace’s goal is not just to save our soul, but to motivate and enable us to live freely and serve God with confidence and intensity. 

Ephesians 2: 8-9 are verses we often use to explain God’s grace: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith– and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– not by works, so that no one can boast.” But, again, that’s only half the story. Verse 10 provides the rest of the story: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” 

God’s grace is for living! May your faith in the “net of grace” motivate you to bold and courageous acts for God’s kingdom.