” There but for the grace of God go I, ________. ” ( insert a name)
I thought this quote was from the Bible. It is not. It sounds like something Paul or Timothy or John, or even Jesus might say. It seems to be right on. We must depend on the grace of God for our lives. We mess up, or sin, so often, that we need God’s unconditional love to survive and thrive in our daily lives.
The saying seems to come from John Bradford. Bradford lived in the 1700’s, and said this when he watched another man pass by on the way to be hanged. A few years later, he was hanged by the Mary Queen of Scots. I left his name out of the quote because other people have inserted their own names including American preachers like George Whitfield and Dwight L Moody. So, you can insert your own name like, Dianne Rellinger, Anna Dunn or Ralph Kropf !
Yesterday it rained a lot here in Ottawa. We went to the Art Museum to get out of the rain. We met a friend of Ndagire at the front of the museum. We had a short five minute walk from our car to the museum. It did not rain. We had a 15 minute wait outside to get in, it did not rain. While in the museum we got tornado warnings on our phones. Fifteen minutes before the museum was to close, it poured and poured. When it was time to leave at 5:00 pm, the rain stopped. We walked around the local market for 15 more minutes and it did not rain. We stopped for a snack, and it was sprinkling on the outdoor patio, and by the time we got into the restaurant, it poured heavily again. But by the grace of God go we, Ndagire, Shirley, Anna and Fred. We did not deserve to stay dry, just like we do not deserve God’s grace. Grace is never intended to be earned, only experienced as a gift for all of our life. We do not need to explain, just live with it, and love God for it.
Shalom, strength and peace for journey of grace for life and faith.