For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Note: this post has been in progress for almost 3 weeks. I’ve written, deleted, re-written, deleted again, and so on. Today (11/7) I finally realized what God is calling me to write about grace.
Lately I’ve been thinking about grace. What exactly IS it? How do we feel it? Can we share it with others? I know I can feel and share love, how about grace?
My brother-in-law wrote a great post about grace on his blog. I cannot recommend it enough – I’ve read it few quite a few times and am still working through it – there’s a ton there to think about!
One thing he said that really resonates with me is: “Accepting grace is a choice…”
I choose to accept God’s grace. But how? That’s what I’ve wrestled with, along with the aforementioned “What is grace” question.
However, this post isn’t going to explain grace. Pete (my aforementioned brother-in-law) does a much better job explaining what it is than I ever could. This post is about what grace means to me.
One of the most Christ-like people I have ever known was my dad. He wasn’t perfect by any means. And he and I had our share of misunderstandings. He was a good man though. A darn good man. When he died, my mom asked me to sing Amazing Grace at his funeral, which was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. But as I’ve wrestled with the concept of grace, the song Amazing Grace has been going through my brain. And that leads to thinking about my dad.
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
(lyrics by John Newton)
My father had a rough beginning. He was severely abused as a child by his father. His father died when he was 12 and then his mom passed when he was 16. He had an aunt and uncle who helped him but he spent a lot of time on the streets, which wasn’t easy for him. He did a lot – to himself and others. But always seemed to make the right choice when temptation came knocking. He turned down a job running for the mob. He joined a gang but never did drugs or killed anyone. He fought off the abuse and never hurt us (we got spankings, but nothing like what he went through as a child). Even with his rough start, he became a good Christian man. All of that wasn’t an accident – that was through God’s grace and love. If God’s grace could help my father overcome those obstacles, none of us have any excuse not to accept God’s grace with humility and joy in our hearts.
As for me? I was lost. I was blind. And after 25+ years away from God, I found my way back home. None of that would have been possible without God’s grace. That is a wonderful thing to think about and to thank God for.
Thank you, God, for your perfect grace – a reminder of who I am in YOUR eyes. I am not perfect. You know my flaws better than even I. And Your grace means you love me completely even with my flaws. Thank you for that incredible blessing. Amen.
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