I sing the solo grace “that saved a wretch like me,”—and so I should. Without it, I would be forever lost and never found.
But grace is more than what God does for me, though there may never be a hymn to fully capture that.
Grace is the Spirit moving in a hundred hearts when reconciliation is proclaimed from pulpits or on hillsides. “For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:22-24).
Grace is the grip of someone I’ve offended who offers a forgiving hug, even when I haven’t gotten to “I’m sorry.” Grace is the circle of believers, certain of their brokenness, who willingly embrace the addict, the obnoxious, the pariah.
Just like the Child who was born to us, grace is God’s truth for all of us—on us; for us; with us; through us. “To all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God” (John 1:12).
We teach each other of this shareable redemption by not insisting on our rights; by silencing our cutting words; by holding those who seem intent on pushing us away. We live this grace together in a fellowship encouraging forgiveness.
Pray for the eyes to see this wider grace, to sing this fuller song.
And you will stay in grace. -Bill Knott
Gerald Klingbeil: Lip-syncing for God, November 2019
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Cross Purposes (October 25, 2019)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Staying In The Race (October 18, 2019)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: A Circle of Forgiveness (October 11, 2019)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Is It Too Good To Be True? (October 4, 2019)
Marvene Thorpe-Baptiste: Light A Candle (October 2019)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: When Everything Changes (September 27, 2019)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Sustainability (September 20,2019)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: When Politics Misleads Us (September 13, 2019)
Willie Oliver: Men? Victims of Domestic Violence? (Sept 2019)
GraceNotes: Environmental Truths (Sept 6, 2019)
Cliff's Edge: Invisible Spiders From Mars (Sept 2019)
GraceNotes: Drenched But Delighted (August 30, 2019)
Lael Caesar: Spiritual Abuse (September 2019)
Lael Caesar: Sacred Safe (September 2019)
David Fournier: Kidsafe Church (September 2019)
Stephen Chavez: See All The People (September 2019)
Wilona Karimabadi: Courage and Betrayal (September 2019)
Journeys With Jesus: The Audience of One (September 2019)
Searching The Obvious: The Taste of Gratitude (September 2019)
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