Friday, March 13

Scripture:
“By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” — Ephesians 2:8

Hymn Focus:

Amazing Grace

“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.”

Lent is a season for honest truth-telling about who we are and who God is. The hymn Amazing Grace meets us precisely there—naming both our lostness and God’s redeeming love. Grace is not a reward for spiritual effort; it is a gift that finds us when we cannot find our way ourselves.

The hymn dares to use uncomfortable language—“that saved a wretch like me.” Lent helps us understand why. When we slow down and examine our lives, we recognize the ways we have wandered: from love, from trust, from hope. Yet Lent never leaves us in despair. Grace interrupts our blindness and restores our sight.

To be “found” is more than being forgiven; it is being reclaimed. God’s grace does not merely overlook our sin—it transforms us. As we journey toward the cross, we see grace embodied in Christ, who enters fully into human suffering to bring us home to God.

The hymn also reminds us that grace is not only for the past. The God who saved us continues to lead us—“’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved.” Lent invites us to live each day shaped by that same grace, trusting that the One who found us will not let us go.

Prayer

Gracious God,

We give thanks for grace that meets us in our need

and calls us out of darkness into light.

As we walk the Lenten path,

help us to see ourselves honestly

and trust your mercy completely.

May your amazing grace continue to shape our lives,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen