Daily Word of Grace # 22 (April 15, 2020)
The beautiful final song on U2’s 2000 album All That You Can’t Leave Behind is called “Grace.” Bono sings, “Grace—she takes the blame, she covers the shame, removes the stain, it could be her name…grace finds goodness in everything…grace finds beauty in everything.” When we talk about God’s grace we talk about God’s unconditional one-way love toward you, a love that is truly unchanging even in the midst your ever-changing life. The ultimate example of God’s grace, God’s unconditional, one-way love toward the whole world, and toward you, is found in Jesus, Grace Personified. Throughout his earthly ministry Jesus showed people who were not used to being shown love—criminals, tax collectors, notorious sinners, adulterers, etc.—that they were indeed loved, more than they could imagine. On the cross Jesus revealed himself as Grace Personified when he took the blame for the world and for you, when he covered the shame of the world and of you, when he removed the stain from the world and from you. And today through the power of the Holy Spirit this same Jesus, Grace Personified, can find goodness in everything in your life, even the areas you cannot find any goodness at all—and can find beauty in everything, even the ugliest areas in your life. In fact, in a way grace actually is God’s name—“the God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10).
Love and Prayers,
Dave