The most familiar hymn of all time might be Amazing Grace. Just a few bars of the melody is all that is needed for most to join in singing:

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.

Perhaps the other stanzas are less familiar but this first one is quite recognizable to most Americans. It’s rare to watch footage of the now-too-familiar candlelight vigil or a somber memorial when this song isn’t played prominently or at least in the background. It’s a soundtrack to Americans in mourning.

But though the melody evokes strong emotions, nearly a tragic sweetness, the words ought to instill hope midst sorrow. I want to address the melody in a later blog but I want to highlight something that has recently occurred to me about the powerful truths this first stanza reveals.

I was at first considering the “sound” that is mentioned here. What is that sound so sweet? I polled some valued people and many wonderful answers were given. But I understand the sound to be… the name of Jesus. The Bible tells us that God the Father gave His Beloved Son, Jesus, the name which is above every name and the only name by which a person can be saved. Jesus saves. Jesus is the sweetest name I know.

Before any of us called on Jesus, there wasn’t even the realization that we were wretched. If a room is dim, it’s hard to see yourself in the mirror, but when it’s brightly lit, all the blemishes become quite apparent. In the light of Jesus Christ, not only can we see our own wretchedness but there is grace to acknowledge our own wretchedness. Perhaps we might compare ourselves to the song writer and say, “I’m not a God-cursing slave-trader,” which was John Newton at one point in his life. True, but would you examine your thoughts over the last 24 hours? All of them. Any murderous thoughts? If your thought-life were to be broadcasted like a movie, what kind of ratings might it be given? And yet, the Bible tells us that Jesus died on the cross for my sins. Those committed, those yet to be acted upon, those in progress. Not only so, the blood He shed on the Cross dealt with the Sin nature within me, not just the sins I commit. He gave all who believes in Him His very own life, so in God’s eyes, God sees His Son in place of the wretch like me.

You might tell me, so what? I don’t believe the Bible and I am still a good person. Why this talk of sin all the time? Ah, this consideration is the perfect lead-in to the next two lines. I once was lost. Truly, someone who is lost might not be fully aware of it. If you don’t have a charted path, anywhere will do. If I don’t know I have a destination or a home, I can wander in the world without the thought of being lost. But if someone leads me home or to my purposed destination, I would then realize that prior to that, I was lost, but now I’m found. Newton makes it so simple.

But the last line about being blind is revelatory. To someone born blind, sight means very little. There would be little motivation to see. Furthermore, any attempts to describe things visually would seem like utter nonsense. And the truth of the matter is that we are all born blind to God. To perceive a smell, we need a functioning nose. To perceive a sight we need functioning eyes. To perceive God, who is Spirit, we need a functioning spirit. And until we see for the first time, we would never even realize we were blind. When Jesus saves us, He gives us His life and His life makes our dormant spirit alive. And with a living functioning spirit, we perceive God in ways we could never perceive before. Before we believed in Jesus, the things of God seemed so fantastical, but afterwards, we just want to tell others, this is real. But like someone seeing for the first time, we still stumble in explaining what we “see” to others who haven’t seen. But we can say this about ourselves, … was blind but now I see.

If the things of God seem ridiculous to you, won’t you consider that every one who has trusted Jesus was once in the exact same place as you. And throughout the ages, we all give the same witness. God gave His only Son, Jesus, not only to save us from sin and the judgment of us as sinners, but much more, that we may have Jesus’ eternal, death-conquering life. That is our purpose: Jesus Christ. This is why humanity is here on earth. This week, the world remembers Jesus’ substitutionary death on a Roman cross and His death-conquering resurrection on Easter Sunday. We have been given the reality of this truth in Jesus’ resurrection life moment by moment. When we believe, our eyes for God are opened. This is amazing grace.

Stanza two…