It's mesmerizing, watching the waves come in at the shore. I remember a few times as a child on rare outings to the beach, losing myself in their hypnotic rhythm, allowing myself to be almost dizzy with the motion of a constantly moving landscape while I stood still, almost ankle deep as wave after wave lapped up nearly to my knees and back down. Then I'd feel the wave suck a little of the sand out from between my toes on its way back to the ocean - and within seconds it would all happen all over again. One after another - they never stopped. Rough, smooth, sunny, windy, rainy ... it never mattered. The speed and intensity might vary, but they never ceased rolling in. There was something comforting about the constancy and dependability of it all.
So when I first heard Gordon Jensen's song, Grace upon Grace, it touched something deep in the recesses of my spirit.
The concept of grace is not new to Christianity. But it is often sold short because all the preaching and the usual talk on grace talks about the forgiveness we have from the sins of the past. But let's think about it for a while. When Jesus died on the cross, you and I had not even been born yet. All our sins were in the future at that point in time - and so were all the sins of our children, and grandchildren, born or not even conceived yet!
In fact, when Jesus said, "It is finished!" He was talking about paying in full for every sin, past, present, and future - forever - for every person, past, present, and future. Nothing we have ever done and nothing we will ever do is too much for God, will not take Him by surprise, or cause Him to love us any less. Once we give Him our will and our lives to take care of, He will never leave us - never! His intense passion for relationship with us is faithful, persistent - even when we aren't. The deposit, the down-payment of His Spirit that He has placed in each of us will not let us go; He is faithful and persistent to complete what He has started and He has guaranteed that completion. That grace keeps on coming and coming, pouring over us, never-ending, above and beyond what we could ever imagine. Such lavish and loyal love - coming from the most pure heart in the universe - can only produce one reaction in the life of one so loved: a life lived from gratitude.
Consider these words:
Like the ocean in waves ever seeking the shore
To His children comes the grace of the Lord -
And like a mighty sea so deep and so wide
His grace to us is an endless supply....
Grace upon grace like the waves on the shore, always enough, always more -
Grace upon grace like the waves on the shore - all that we need is ours from the Lord.
In daylight or midnight the waves touch the shore,
One on another they faithfully pour!
Summer or winter they never subside
And so our gracious Father provides
Grace upon grace like the waves on the shore, always enough, always more -
Grace upon grace like the waves on the shore - all that we need is ours from the Lord.
Thank You SO much, Lord Jesus!!
So when I first heard Gordon Jensen's song, Grace upon Grace, it touched something deep in the recesses of my spirit.
The concept of grace is not new to Christianity. But it is often sold short because all the preaching and the usual talk on grace talks about the forgiveness we have from the sins of the past. But let's think about it for a while. When Jesus died on the cross, you and I had not even been born yet. All our sins were in the future at that point in time - and so were all the sins of our children, and grandchildren, born or not even conceived yet!
In fact, when Jesus said, "It is finished!" He was talking about paying in full for every sin, past, present, and future - forever - for every person, past, present, and future. Nothing we have ever done and nothing we will ever do is too much for God, will not take Him by surprise, or cause Him to love us any less. Once we give Him our will and our lives to take care of, He will never leave us - never! His intense passion for relationship with us is faithful, persistent - even when we aren't. The deposit, the down-payment of His Spirit that He has placed in each of us will not let us go; He is faithful and persistent to complete what He has started and He has guaranteed that completion. That grace keeps on coming and coming, pouring over us, never-ending, above and beyond what we could ever imagine. Such lavish and loyal love - coming from the most pure heart in the universe - can only produce one reaction in the life of one so loved: a life lived from gratitude.
Consider these words:
Like the ocean in waves ever seeking the shore
To His children comes the grace of the Lord -
And like a mighty sea so deep and so wide
His grace to us is an endless supply....
Grace upon grace like the waves on the shore, always enough, always more -
Grace upon grace like the waves on the shore - all that we need is ours from the Lord.
In daylight or midnight the waves touch the shore,
One on another they faithfully pour!
Summer or winter they never subside
And so our gracious Father provides
Grace upon grace like the waves on the shore, always enough, always more -
Grace upon grace like the waves on the shore - all that we need is ours from the Lord.
Thank You SO much, Lord Jesus!!
No comments:
Post a Comment