Victoria Ruvolo was driving home in November 2004 when a 20-pound frozen turkey smashed through her windshield and almost killed her. The impact was so intense that EMTs could not even tell if she was a man or a woman. Victoria was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. Nearly every bone in her face was broken, her esophagus was caved in, one eye socket was fractured, and she suffered brain damage. Victoria had to be put in a medically-induced coma, and she spent almost a month in the hospital. Her face had to be completely reconstructed. Victoria’s doctors described her survival as a “miracle.”
A teenager named Ryan Cushing was responsible for the senseless crime. He was driving around with some of his friends and the frozen turkey, which they had purchased with a stolen credit card, when Victoria’s vehicle approached in the opposite direction. Ryan then hurled the turkey at her car. It was a moment that changed both of their lives.
Ryan could have faced 25 years in prison for the offense. He probably deserved even more than that. After all, he randomly attacked an innocent woman with no regard for her life. The injuries she suffered were extremely serious. She had to undergo hours of surgery to rebuild her face and endure months of painful rehabilitation. Surprisingly, however, Ryan ended up receiving only six months in jail and five years probation.
The prosecutor wanted to seek a harsher sentence for Ryan, as did members of Victoria’s family. The crime certainly called for far more than six months in jail. Yet that is what the victim wanted. It was Victoria who insisted that Ryan be shown leniency. She had been given a second chance at life and wanted him to get one, too. When Victoria finally met her attacker, she hugged him and said, “I just want you to make your life the best it can be.” That’s grace.
Ryan should have spent decades in prison to pay for what he did. That’s what his actions demanded. The lighter sentence does not seem fitting or fair. Clearly, Ryan did not receive what he deserved and did not deserve what he received. That’s grace.
“Grace” is unmerited favor or undeserved blessing. It is goodwill extended to someone who has done nothing to warrant it. “Grace” comes from the Greek word charis, and is often used in the New Testament of the favor God bestows on sinners through Jesus Christ. He made a way of salvation possible to us, despite our absolute unworthiness. He acted freely and without expectation of receiving anything in return. It was unearned kindness!
Grace can be hard to comprehend in our world of earning. We are used to students earning their grades, scouts earning their badges, players earning their positions, soldiers earning their ranks, and workers earning their paychecks. It is all about getting what is “rightfully yours” based on some form of achievement. That is the opposite of grace. It is not merit-based, but mercy-based.
The older brother struggled to comprehend grace in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. He felt that since he had put in more time, exerted more energy, done more good, and been more reliable than his younger brother, the party should be for him. He earned it. His score was higher. His credentials were greater. What the older brother failed to realize, however, is that he didn’t deserve his father’s goodness either. He may have worked harder outwardly, but he was harboring animosity, jealousy, and pride inwardly. So rather than resenting his father for extending goodness to someone so undeserving, he should have rejoiced in it.
This is not to say that obedience is unnecessary. Jesus declared, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). John added, “…whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). There are many other passages that make the same point. We must be obedient to please God. However, our obedience constitutes a yearning, not an earning. We are calling out, not cashing in. We should never trust that our own actions merit salvation.
Grace is better experienced than explained. Perhaps that is why the Gospels do not define grace, but rather demonstrate it through the various stories of Jesus Christ. His life was a constant outpouring of divine favor upon an underserving world. The grace He extended to people was practical yet profound. It met them where they were, but never left them as they came.