Charles Gabriel begins his well
known hymn “My Savior’s Love” with this line, “I stand amazed in the presence
of Jesus the Nazarene”. It clearly
resonates of John Newton’s famous “Amazing Grace”. As we remember that Jesus is the full
personification of grace and that grace is love in motion, we can appreciate
the words of Charles Gabriel. Grace
should leave us amazed. In alphabetizing
grace words, Amazing makes a really good word for “A”.
Are we daily amazed at how gracious
God has been toward us? Are we daily
amazed at how gracious God continues to be toward us? If we skip the first two questions in the
Heidelberg Catechism and consider the first major point, then maybe we can
reflect more fully on the amazing grace of God in Christ. The first point deals with the misery of our
natural condition as humans. We are
sinners, depraved sinners, condemned sinners, sinners who are contrary to God
in our thoughts and words and desires.
We offend God every day. Nothing
we do is good or righteous in God’s pure and holy eyes. God is holy and our sin is repulsive. But, God in grace sent His Son to die for our
sins so that He, God, could justly forgive them. Jesus, who is perfect and holy as the true
Son of God, became sin for us that we could then become the righteousness of
God in Him. That is AMAZING GRACE!
More than that, however, after we
become His child we still sin. Yet, in
grace, He still forgives us and still claims us as His own. Peter asked Jesus if he should forgive a man
clear up to seven times. Jesus surprised
him by saying up to seventy times seven times.
How many times has God forgiven us?
It is far more than seventy times seven.
That is gracious indeed. But not
only has He forgiven us He continues to bless us and care for us and watch over
us. We haven’t exhausted His grace. That is amazing. THAT IS AMAZING GRACE!
Today let the strains of that
classic hymn “Amazing Grace” flow through your heart and mind. Sing it; hum it; meditate upon each of its
well scripted lines. And each time that you
sing it, hum it, or meditate on it, praise God for His amazing grace and
reflect how you can show it to others as He has shown it to you.
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