I got up this morning feeling a bit ‘found and lost’ (I guess that’s worse than being lost and found). I needed a bit of assurance. I think that’s when I thought about the hymn Amazing Grace.
God’s grace is part of our formal (Christian) vocabulary. It adorns our prayers. It makes us sound ’spiritual’. But then… What does it mean? How do we understand it? I began to reflect on the words.
” Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I’m found. Was blind but now I see”
Thanks to youtube I could listen a vblog and experience the words in music and song.
‘ Amazing grace’ makes us feel good. I guess, there’s something about its tune. But I wonder why the ‘amazing grace’ that it talks about doesn’t make an impact any longer. It stops short of being ‘amazing’. I listened to the song again…
T’was Grace that taught… my heart to fear. And Grace, my fears relieved. How precious did that Grace appear… the hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils and snares… we have already come. T’was Grace that brought us safe thus far… and Grace will lead us home.
I found the second verse strange. I have never have experienced grace like this. And rightly so, because I had not grasped the full import of its meaning and significance for my normal (christian) life. It’s such a shame that I didn’t know much about God’s grace. Why?!!!
Strangely, we had not discussed/dwelt on this theme anytime in seminary (whoof…I have spent about 8 long years). We just sang songs about God’s grace… and thought we understood it because we felt good after we sang the song. We had never discussed it in my youth fellowship, although every Friday during the prayer time people would always start by saying, ” I thank God for his grace this week…” I have not heard my pastor preach on ‘Grace’… although this is the recurrent theme in the worship service. I wonder if this word is ever mentioned in our worship concerts now…
It occured to me that I need to know what grace is. Without meaning words become empty. It doesn’t capture your imagination. I needed to know what the bible says about grace. I needed to know how I can be an instrument of God’s grace.
What is God’s grace? I asked myself. I didn’t know how to put my thoughts into words. I couldn’t even think of an image to describe God’s grace. Did I actually know it or was I just pretending… I google-searched… and found a few things to say about God’s grace.
Grace is God showing His love to us even though we don’t deserve it. God showed His grace by saving us from sin (our deliberate rebellion against God). God also shows His grace by giving you strength and guidance, and by taking care of us each day. God, by His grace, gives you strength to handle difficult problems in your life. Isn’t God’s grace wonderful? But… Have we ever thanked God for His grace in our lives? God’s grace is freely available to us. What do we do about it? Because God shows His grace to us, we must be eager show His grace to others. But…do we…?
Just when I felt I found an answer, I realized my folly… I had fallen into the same rut again. I had substituted head knowledge for heart experience. In the first place, I was looking to understand grace and definitely not intending a feel-good, look-good experience.Today you could google-search on any given topic and claim expertise. Is this knowledge? Knowledge in the bible is ‘intimacy’. You know it not merely because of ‘proximity’ but rather due to intimate engagement with it. Wisdom is all about applying this intimate experience in real life situations. The danger with contempoary christianity is that we are data and/or soundbyte driven. But possession of data is not wisdom. It has taken a while to understand that following Jesus is not about ‘faith seeking understanding’ (an intellectual assent) but rather it is ‘faith that seeks application’.
And so I have started to reflect on God’s grace… in a sense this is theology… theology is engaging in personal conversations about God. Theology is our reflection on God’s revelation that leads to devotion.
” When we’ve been there, ten thousand years, bright shining as the Sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise, the hour we first believed”
I need to know about God’s grace as much as I need to know God’s grace. I need to know by experience. I need to know by applying in concrete life situations. And so with a little google-knowledge I walked into the spot light of God’s grace… to know what it is… to experience it…
I am reflecting on God’s grace this all week. What better time than Christmas to reflect on God’s amazing grace. I hope I will be able to see Grace in a new light and more importantly be able to appropriate and apply it in normal everyday (christian) life before I start articulating it… I was once found and now I am lost (in cultural christianity). Amazing grace how sweet it sounds… that still leads me home…
Questions for reflection
1) How do you understand grace? Which passage/s of Scripture comes to mind when you think of Grace?
2) How have you experienced ‘ God’s grace’ in your life? What role does grace play in our normal everyday (Christian) life?
3) Apostle Paul wrote to Christians in Rome saying, ” Should we sin that grace may abound?” What did he mean by this?
4) How does understanding of grace change the way we relate to ourselves and people around us? How do you think we can be instruments of God’s grace to those around us?
