A simple question

[All-American]

Originally Posted by UtahDan

I can buy most of that, though I would suggest that your point 1) is actually where it fails. It misframes the issue by suggesting that we kick in part and he kicks in most of it. He kicks in the whole thing.

It would be like me telling you that if you come by later today I will give you one million dollars. You do nothing to earn the one million or any part of it, you simply have followed my instructions for accessing it.

There. Now I have laid out my own bad analogy that we can critique. :-)

I think he recognized that as well-- he tried to convey the idea by making our contribution miniscule and insignificant. "All we can do" sets us up in a position where we can receive God's grace, and our "part" that we "kick in" doesn't go to our salvation, it is a gift to God and a demonstration of our love of Him. Even in Robinson's story, the father says "you give ME [not the bike salesman] the money, a hug and a kiss, and the bike is yours."

It is not a perfect analogy, by any stretch, and Robinson is likely the first to admit it. It teaches a point or two very powerfully, however.