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Jotting Judi - Grace, Amazing Grace!

Posted by: tdt -

When I turned on the television I immediately recognized the singing group on stage as The Oak Ridge Boys. This country music group has been singing for as long as I can remember. Their harmonious voices boomed out the words to the hymn, Amazing Grace, which has also been around as long as I can remember. This hymn, written by John Newton in 1776, has been sung by secular and Christian groups for decades. I almost changed the channel thinking this couldn’t be the opening of the Republican Convention; but it was. And, I was amazed!
The Hebrew word grace means to bend or stoop. A great Bible scholar, Donald Barnhouse, said it this way; “Love that goes upward is worship. Love that goes outward is affection. Love that stoops is grace.”
I learned about grace in Tirana, Albania while on a mission trip. The moment I emerged from the security of the airport to the street I was surrounded by dirty, sore infested street children. They were beggars and thieves!  They grabbed at me to glean anything of value. Hope was gone and their eyes were filled with greed.  My survival instinct clicked in saying “don’t touch them.” I scurried to board the van where I could watch the scene continue to unfold outside the window. And my heart, well, my heart…

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