Day 1 - A Grace Song

“Matthew, you write a lot of songs about grace.” That was a recent observation a friend made about my music. And guess what? My friend was right! My albums are loaded with one song about grace after another. For some reason, my friend’s comment stuck with me and late one night I wrote this down in my journal, “I write about what I know I need, what I know I don’t deserve, and what gives me hope to wake up every morning. The answer to all of those? Grace.”

One of the beautiful ways God displays His grace in our lives is through the promise of His presence. Simply put, God stays. He is the God who stays even when we are filled with shame for the mistakes we’ve made. The story in John 8 of the woman who was caught in the act of adultery illustrates this truth beautifully. She was dragged out into the street and surrounded by a crowd of accusers who were ready to stone her to death. When the angry crowd asked Jesus His opinion of this disgraced woman’s fate, the words He spoke made the stones fall to the ground. “Let any of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” With that, her accusers walked away and left her all alone. Well, not completely alone. Jesus stayed. Because that’s what Jesus does. He stays. He stayed to sing a grace-song over a disgraced woman who desperately needed to know she wasn’t doomed to a life of guilt and condemnation. The lyrics of Jesus’ grace-song? “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said.” “Neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” 

This is grace - the God who stays with us in our sin and shame. The God who reaches out a hand when everyone else is pointing a finger. The God who’s with us when everyone else turns their backs on us and He says, “You can change, I can help you.” Jesus is singing that same grace-song over you today.