As I sat in church this morning and sang with the congregation about His Amazing Grace and the Doxology I found myself washed over by the truth that the Cross is where I return. My whole belief system, my value, my worth, my hope, is all wrapped up in the redemptive love Jesus showed through His death and resurrection.
My heart fills and my eyes overflow with tears every time I think of this amazing, glorious Grace that God has given me. Ephesians 1 explains this incredible Grace in this way. God loved us before we were ever here and it is this love that draws Him to lavishly pour it out on us through His Son, Jesus. (See Ephesians 1:6).
We can chose to believe in God’s love for us, enough to be saved or we can chose to believe in God’s love for us as a new way to live life. The way I see people, the way I see myself is through this second lens of Grace.
One of my favorite hymns is In Christ Alone. I think the words explain it best. I hope they encourage you as well.
In Christ Alone.
In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.
In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied –
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine –
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.
No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.
Lyrics by Stuart Townsend and Keith Getty
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