Amazing Grace is arguably the most well-known hymn ever composed. Truly, a solid case could be made that it is the most well-known song in history across all genres (The Guinness book of world records lists Happy Birthday in the top spot). The song was composed by the Anglican clergyman John Newton in 1772. More than 250 years have passed since then and still this song is sung in churches around the world. There’s more than a slight chance that the lyrics and/or melody of this great hymn are running through your head right now.
It makes sense that this song would have such staying power through the years. It conveys the timeless hope of the gospel: that God extended His grace to save imperfect and undeserving people. The very first line of the first verse of Amazing Grace proclaims, “Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch; LIKE ME!” It summarizes the truth that the Apostle Paul laid out long before when he wrote, “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst (1 Timothy 1:15).”
We’re more than happy to apply God’s grace to our own wretchedness, but somehow, we fail to apply it with the same liberality when attention turns to others.
We understand and appreciate the greatness of God’s grace, particularly as it relates to our own faults and failures. When we sing or hear the words to Amazing Grace our hearts are warmed by the flood of gratitude that comes from considering all Jesus has done for us. While we may, at times, wonder at the magnitude of God’s grace, we have full confidence that it applies to people “like me,” as the song says. God’s grace applied to me is truly amazing.
All too often, however, we lose sight of amazing grace when we look out on the mass of humanity around us. Suddenly grace is less amazing than it is offensive. We’re more than happy to apply God’s grace to our own wretchedness, but somehow, we fail to apply it with the same liberality when attention turns to others. Few things cause good Christian men and women to “lose their Jesus” like the application of grace to those we deem undeserving. It’s incredibly ironic because grace, by definition, is unmerited and unearned favor, regardless of the recipient.
That is part of what makes grace so amazing. In the truest sense of the word, none of us are deserving. As Paul notes in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is NOT FROM YOURSELVES, it is the GIFT OF GOD – not by works, so that no one can boast.” None of us earns the compassion and goodness of God through the purity and righteousness of our attitudes and actions. God provides them freely to us based on the enormity of His love, as seen in the sacrificial death of Jesus, and the vastness of His grace.
If grace is so amazing, if it is a foundational feature of our salvation and the great love of God for us, should it not inform and influence how we see and treat others?
If grace is so amazing, if it is a foundational feature of our salvation and the great love of God for us, should it not inform and influence how we see and treat others? 1 John 4:10-11 indicates that it should. John writes, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” Grace is not only amazing because it saves us, but also because it fundamentally changes us. It makes us right with God and opens avenues for us, by God’s grace, to live in right relationship with others, even and especially when they are in the wrong.
If our sins did not disqualify us from God’s grace, the perceived faults of others surely shouldn’t disqualify them from ours. Do “they” deserve it? It doesn’t matter! Grace is never deserved, but freely given all-the-same. Praise God that He went to such lengths to make His grace available to us. Let us endeavor to make our grace available to a lost and hurting world. Perhaps through our efforts others will discover the amazing grace about which we sing.
