O to Grace...

As I was walking from my bus stop to the student union the other day, I found myself humming the song, "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" and for some reason, the words of the third verse struck me in a way that they had not before... The verse begins :

Oh, to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be;
Let that grace now like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee:

Let me unpack that for you, just a bit:

Grace: free and unmerited favor; being credited something you don't deserve.
Debtor: one who owes something; one who has received what he has not yet paid for
Constrained: held back, forced, required to be
Fetter: shackles or leg irons for the feet or ankles.

In other words, the songwriter is stating, "Each and every day, I have no choice but to receive favor which is not something that I can earn or establish on my own. I cannot survive without your grace. I am unable to exist without your grace. Even though I try on my own, I find myself, at the end of every day, a debtor to your grace."

Every day, I meet with students who are trying desperately to earn God's favor. And, who am I kidding, if I don't say that I am also in that boat. I do everything in my power to be pleasing to God... sometimes for worthy means, other times, because I really do think that I have the capacity to earn his favor.

Please don't think I'm being masochistic. I do think that our actions can be pleasing to God. My point is this: in no way, shape or form, can we live perfect enough lives to sanctify ourselves... our best, is never going to be enough to make us clean. The Israelites tried for years, through sacrifices and burnt offerings to purify themselves. And they had to continue sacrificing, because their best was never enough...

We can live lives which reflect a tiny portion of God's holiness, but we can never BE fully holy, in the absence of Christ. Each day, we fall. And each day, we depend on God's grace for the cleansing of our sins, giving us the ability to claim our status as his heirs, sons and daughters.

What the songwriter is suggesting is that our debt to grace-- our inability to live perfect enough lives-- should serve to bring us back to Christ. In other words, our dependence on grace should not disgust us... it should not be something that we are ashamed of. But rather, our dependence on grace is what binds our hearts unto God, what draws us in, what wraps us in His embrace, yet again.

Am I willing to do that? Instead of shame and guilt over my falls, my slips, my weaknesses which make me need grace more, can I see those as things which make me depend on God?

Can I see my need for grace as a good thing? And freely cry out with the songwriter, "let that grace now, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee..."