An Amazing Grace Realized
I am a work in progress, as my blogs attest.
Further evidence of my condition can be found in my thoughts, reflections, fears, and anxieties, as well as the grace God continues to show me.
A while ago, I watched the movie "Amazing Grace," detailing the passionate and enduring battle of William Wilberforce against a society and commerce built around slavery. Blacks were treated as cargo stored on a ship like lumber, and the depth of this cruel time in history was the inspiration for a slave ship captain's repentance and writing the great hymn Amazing Grace.
This movie was an eye-opener for someone like me, whose relative discomfort in life is misplacing the TV remote. I can never grasp the unspeakable, abusive history of slavery, and if there were a movie about my spiritual journey, it may not be called Amazing Grace, BUT instead…
‘A GRACE REALIZED’.
My GRACE REALIZED is…
those moments of peace where no matter my sins (aka mistakes in judgment, choice, vices), no matter my shortcomings, I realize I AM A CHILD OF GOD. God’s Grace is not limited by a 30-day return policy or 'pre-existing conditions'.
LIMITS ON GRACE are from man (and woman), misguided churches, and the evening news, but God’s Grace has no limits.
Like many of you, I am the product, or byproduct, of a world cluttered with rush hour traffic, bumper to bumper, a 24/7 dog-eat-dog work world where GRACE IS RARELY REALIZED or shared. With over 60 years of life experience, I feel like a slow learn, BUT this brings me back to the reality of a GRACE TO BE REALIZED. It is always there, but without a paradigm shift of an oppressed mind towards God, I remain an underachiever.
So today I encourage each of you to accept God’s love, believe His words (our Bibles), and smile mon’, because we can be refreshed and energized by A GRACE REALIZED.
May God bless you on this journey where you love God with all your heart, and care for others. May Grace be more than the name of a lady you know, or the name of a church.
A Grace UN-realized is a life sold short of what God intends and what we desire!
Thus saith.. JEFF
