Growing Deeper

There is a song that has been recorded more than 3,700 times. It has been sung at Woodstock and the Grand Ole Opry. It has been performed by Elvis, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, and countless others. It has echoed through funeral homes and sanctuaries, through stadiums and small country churches. And yet, no matter how many times you hear it, the words still carry a weight that is difficult to explain.
Amazing Grace.
The question worth sitting with today is not whether you know the song. Chances are you do. The real question is this: do you know what makes grace so amazing in the first place?
A Definition Worth Holding Onto
Grace is used in many ways in our culture. It is a name given to daughters. It is the poise someone carries when they walk into a room. It is the extra time a lender gives you before a payment is truly overdue. And if you have ever sat down to a meal with family, you have probably heard someone say, "Let's say grace."
But when we talk about God's grace, we are talking about something far more profound than any of those uses. Here is a definition worth writing down: God's grace means to experience undeserved favor or merit. Not favor you earned. Not merit you accumulated. Undeserved. That single word changes everything.
Grace Has Always Been God's Way
One of the most striking things about the Bible is how consistently God's grace appears from the very beginning. In Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve sinned and hid in shame, God did not simply erase them. He covered them. He pursued them. He extended grace before they even thought to ask for it.
When the world had grown so corrupt that God sent the flood described in Genesis 6 through 9, He still preserved Noah and his family. Grace, even in judgment. When the Israelites found themselves enslaved in Egypt, God did not leave them there. He sent Moses. Grace, in the form of deliverance. And then, prophet after prophet, generation after generation, God kept reaching toward a people who kept turning away.
And then came Jesus. The ultimate expression of God's grace. Not a prophet. Not a deliverer in the earthly sense. But God Himself, taking on human form, walking among us, and ultimately going to a cross to make payment for sins He never committed.
Grace has always been God's way.
The God Who Pursues
Here is something that might unsettle you in the best possible way: you did not come to God on your own. Romans 3:11 makes it plain that none of us seeks after God on our own. Left to ourselves, we drift. We wander. We sometimes run in the opposite direction entirely.
And yet, God pursues.
Author Philip Yancey captures this beautifully when he writes that grace seeks out the most broken and vulnerable people in the lowest situations, much like water that carves canyons by flowing to the lowest places. Grace does not wait for you to clean yourself up. It flows toward you in your lowest moment.
Jesus illustrated this truth in three parables recorded in Luke 15. A shepherd who leaves ninety-nine sheep to find one that is lost. A woman who turns her entire house upside down searching for a single lost coin. A father who sees his wayward son coming from a long way off and runs to meet him before the son can even finish his rehearsed apology. In every one of these stories, the searching, the seeking, the running -- that is God's posture toward you.
He is not waiting for you to find Him. He is already looking for you.
Grace You Cannot Earn
In his letter to the church at Corinth, the Apostle Paul was writing to a congregation in serious trouble. There was division, immorality, and dysfunction of nearly every kind. You might expect a letter that opens with a sharp rebuke. Instead, Paul opens 1 Corinthians 1:3 with these words, extending grace and peace to them from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
That is remarkable. Before Paul addresses a single problem, he reminds them of grace. He goes on in verse 4 to thank God specifically for the grace that had been given to them through Christ Jesus. Paul understood something that is easy to forget: none of us are experiencing God's grace because we deserve it or because we have done enough to earn it. It is a gift. Full stop.
No amount of religious activity changes that. No number of baptisms, no size of offering, no perfect attendance record earns what only God can freely give.
The Day Grace Will Make Complete Sense
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:8 that God will confirm believers to the end, so that they may be blameless on the day of judgment. That word blameless is worth sitting with. It does not mean sinless. It does not mean perfect. It means covered. Covered by the blood of Jesus.
There may come a moment when you stand before God, and the full record of your life is laid bare -- every thought, every word, every failure, every moment of selfishness or pride or doubt. And in that moment, the most amazing thing will happen. Jesus will say, this one is mine.
That is grace. That is what makes it amazing.
Have You Experienced It?
The song Amazing Grace was written by John Newton, who knew what it meant to be lost. He had lived a rough and rebellious life before surrendering his heart to Jesus. When he wrote those words, he was not speaking abstractly. He was speaking from experience.
The same grace that found John Newton is available to you today. Not because you have earned it. Not because you deserve it. But because God, who called you here, loves you enough to pursue you.
If you have never experienced that grace, today is a good day to stop running. And if you have, today is a good day to say thank you.

5-Day Bible Reading Plan and Devotional Guide
Based on the Series: Worship Is a Battle
Day 1: Grace That Pursues Reading: Luke 15:1-7
Devotional: Before you ever thought to seek God, He was already searching for you. Romans 3:11 reminds us that on our own, no one naturally seeks after God. Yet His grace refuses to leave us lost. Just as the shepherd abandons comfort to find one missing sheep, God pursues each of us through our wandering, our rebellion, and our indifference. John Newton lived years of reckless sin before grace found him. You did not choose God first. He chose you. Today, sit with that truth. Let gratitude rise from knowing that the God of the universe considered you worth pursuing.
Practical Application: Write down a specific moment when you recognized God pursuing you. Thank Him for it in prayer today.
Day 2: The Cost of Amazing Grace Reading: John 3:16; Isaiah 53:3-6
Devotional: John 3:16 is the most recognized verse in all of Scripture, yet its weight is easy to carry lightly through familiarity. God gave His only Son not as a symbolic gesture but as a complete and costly sacrifice. Isaiah 53 paints the picture plainly: Jesus was despised, rejected, wounded, and crushed. He left the glory of heaven, humbled Himself into human flesh, endured betrayal and false accusation, and was crucified entirely innocent. Every stripe, every nail, every moment of humiliation was grace in action on your behalf. Never allow the word grace to become ordinary. It was purchased at an extraordinary price.
Practical Application: Spend time meditating on one specific aspect of Christ's suffering today. Let that awareness shape how you treat others around you.
Day 3: Enriched by Grace Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Devotional: Paul wrote to a deeply broken church. Division, immorality, and dysfunction filled the congregation at Corinth. Yet before addressing any of it, Paul declared grace and peace over them and gave thanks to God for the grace already given to those believers. He reminded them that they had been enriched in everything through Christ. This is a powerful posture. Before correction comes gratitude. Before confrontation comes acknowledgment of what God has already done. Every spiritual gift, every measure of wisdom, every moment of clarity in your walk with God is the direct result of His grace poured out upon you. Nothing good originates from your own effort alone.
Practical Application: Make a written list of five spiritual blessings in your life. At the top of that list, write the word grace, acknowledging the true source of each one.
Day 4: Covered by the Blood Reading: Romans 5:6-11; Hebrews 4:14-16
Devotional: There will come a day when every thought, word, action, and failure of your life stands exposed before a holy God. That is a sobering reality. Yet for those who have surrendered to Jesus, that moment does not end in condemnation. It ends with Jesus declaring, this one is mine, covered by the blood. Romans 5 tells us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Not after we cleaned ourselves up. Not after we proved ourselves worthy. While we were still broken and wandering, grace moved. Hebrews 4 reminds us we can approach God's throne with confidence because of what Jesus has already done on our behalf.
Practical Application: Is there unconfessed sin creating distance between you and God today? Hebrews 4:16 invites you to approach the throne of grace boldly. Do that today in honest, specific prayer.
Day 5: Grace Upon Grace, Now and Forever Reading: Ephesians 2:4-10; Revelation 22:1-5
Devotional: Ephesians 2 plainly declares that salvation is not the product of your works or efforts. It is the gift of God, entirely an expression of His rich mercy and great love. You were dead in sin and God made you alive. That is the miracle of grace. And this grace does not expire. John Newton captured this truth in the final verse of Amazing Grace: even when the earth dissolves and the sun ceases to shine, God who called you here below will be forever yours. The grace that saved you on your first day of faith is the same grace that will carry you into eternity. It does not run out.
Practical Application: Close this five-day plan by writing a personal prayer of thanksgiving. Be specific about what God's grace has rescued you from and what it has given you. Keep that prayer somewhere you will encounter it regularly as a reminder of His faithfulness.