“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” Revelation 22:21
The phrase “And grace will lead me home” is in the fourth stanza of the song Amazing Grace. Written by John Newton in 1779, it was the declaration of God’s grace in saving him from the depths of sin and evil. He had become a sea captain in the evils of the slave trade, and God used a storm at sea to bring him to saving grace. Later, he became one of England’s most powerful evangelical preachers and an ardent foe of slavery. And Newton knew it was all about grace.
As we have completed the sermon series on Revelation, it is certainly fitting that the last sentence in the Bible focuses on grace. “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” (Revelation 22:21) Grace has been the action of the love of God. When He created the world, it was grace. The Garden of Eden was grace. The plan of salvation was grace. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8) At the culmination of this part of the larger story, grace continues.
Grace has several definitions. Families may say “grace” before meals at the dinner table. We often describe someone’s movement as full of grace. But the grace of the Bible is something entirely different. It is the loving kindness of God toward undeserving mankind. We didn’t and don’t deserve grace. We have done nothing to merit it, and still God acts in grace toward us. Grace exists because of who He is, not because of what we have done. We live in a “quid quo pro” world, something for something. Not so with the grace of God, He has done it all. We are never meant to answer the question, “How can I repay Him for what He has done?”
Dear brothers and sisters, as you read through these three stanzas of the song Amazing Grace, ponder how God’s grace has led you to your true home with Him.
Amazing Grace (https://youtu.be/n3QbHNOxzcY)
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.
’Twas 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 I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
Francie Overstreet
EFCC Member