Grace and Karma and Bono

In the book Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas, U2’s Bono does a great job describing God’s grace. After describing how the concept of karma is central to many religions, Bono explains how karma radically differs from the Christian understanding of grace.

What you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics—in physical laws—every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It’s clear to me that karma is at the very heart of the universe. I’m absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called grace to upend all that “as you reap, so you will sow” stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff. . . .

It doesn’t excuse my mistakes, but I’m holding out for grace. I’m holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don’t have to depend on my own religiosity. Indeed, something akin to karma is at work in the world. The Bible tells us that the law (summarized in the Ten Commandments) represents God’s moral will for how we are to live.

God’s law reveals to us that our sinful acts require a moral response from God. But God’s grace interrupts that “eye for an eye” response in an amazing way! At the cross, God’s justice is fully satisfied by the sinless life of Jesus, and God’s grace enables our forgiveness and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Grace is the foundation of the life of a disciple. We start in grace, and we are sustained by grace..