Both the words and the tune is familiar.
Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch; like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!
The Lord hath promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.
When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we first begun.
But Amazing Grace is more than the song. It is the description of God’s greatest gift to mankind–a free gift that provides a pathway to a forever relationship with the God who created everything, including every individual who has ever walked on this earth.
It is God reaching out to us. Yes, reaching out while we were separated from him because of our sin. God sent his one and only son, Jesus Christ to pay the penalty of death that we deserved.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
Jesus’ death and subsequent resurrection is God’s gift to all who accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. God’s grace is his unmerited favor bestowed upon repentant sinners. People can do nothing to earn it nor do they deserve it. It is an expression of God’s love for the world he created.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
This is the Amazing Grace that the song is all about. People are saved from an eternity separated from God and all that is good. Those who accept that sacrifice that Jesus made on their behalf are no longer blinded by their own sin and begin to see what true love, happiness and contentment look like.
Sadly, not all will experience God’s Amazing Grace, but if you want to know how you can, please visit our post, How does one become a Christian?