I was recently listening to the U2 album, all that you Can’t Leave Behind, and I came across a song called Grace. The lyrics say this, grace takes the blame, covers the shame, removes the stain, but once was hurt, but once was friction. What left a mark? No longer stings because grace makes beauty out of ugly things.
That really spoke to me. I think back on all the things that I’ve done and all the horrible decisions that I’ve made, and if I’m being honest, the bad decisions I still make, I’m just so thankful. For the Gift of Grace, one of my favorite writers, b Brendan Manning, said that he progressed not by always making the right decision, but by responding appropriately to the wrong ones.
And I think that’s all we can do. Learn where we can and continue moving forward. We take our mistakes, our hurts, and our hangups, and we try our best to transform them into something that God can use.
Paul says. This God saved you by His grace when you believed, and you can’t take credit for that. It’s a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for good things to me, grace is the singular. Achievement of the Christian faith. We are broken and undeserving, and yet Jesus says that God’s love for you is unconditional and unending, and there is absolutely nothing that you can do to change that.
We can look back at our lives at all the things that we’ve done and despite those things. There is someone who sees you in perfect love today. I’m thankful for God’s grace. I need it. It means forgiveness. It means second chances. It means that beauty can come from ugly things. You’ve been listening to Everyday Miracles by hope, mindfulness, and prayer.
In the year 1818, a 26-year-old Catholic priest by the name of Joseph Moore was preparing for the Christmas Eve service at his church in the Austrian Alps. And while cleaning up the church in preparation, he found out that his organ had broken. This was not good. I mean, here’s this young guy that is probably new to this church.
If you’ve ever gone through art history class, you’re probably familiar with a painting called The Light of the World. It was painted by the British artist Holman Hunt, and hangs in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. It’s one of the most iconic religious paintings in history. The painting depicts Jesus standing outside of a small, dilapidated cottage.
Recently I went to visit a friend of mine and while visiting, he asked me if I wanted to go see his brother play Little League Baseball that afternoon. I said, sure. So we made our way over to the fields. His little brother was a pitcher and supposedly he was pretty good. But it quickly became evident that today was not his day.
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