By Betty Hertz, St. John Lay Leader
This year, my Lenten practice is to reflect on what God is saying to me through the words of hymns. On Sunday, we sang Grace Alone, and the words of the refrain have been floating around in my ponderings this week.
Grace alone which God supplies
Strength unknown He will provide.
Christ in us, our cornerstone.
We will go forth in grace alone.
Understanding what grace is and living it has often occupied my time during this journey with God. I thought I finally got it—grace is God’s unmerited favor, His unconditional love. God gives us this gift of love. However, as Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2:8,
“You are saved by God’s grace because of your faith. This salvation is God’s gift. It’s not something you possessed.”
The refrain reminds me that faith comes to us as “Christ in us, our cornerstone.” Faith means resting in God and believing every promise, prayer, hope, and blessing is only by His grace.
This prayer guides me in ways to thank God for His grace:
“God, we give you thanks for the grace that lies at the heart of our faith.
Even as we fall short in our response to your love and your call,
your grace still abounds.
We see your grace in the sunlight that warms the earth
and in the stars that light the sky.
We see it in the manger at Bethlehem and the cross of Calvary.
In your grace, we find peace and healing for troubled lives.
In your grace, we see promise for justice and mercy in a troubled world.
As you envelop us, enliven us, and embrace us,
we celebrate you as the God of grace. Amen.”
From Prayers for Life’s Ordinary and Extraordinary Moments by Mary Lou Redding