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.
T’was Grace that taught, my heart to fear. And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear, the hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come.
Tis Grace has brought me safe thus far, and Grace will lead us home.
The Lord has promised good to me, His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be, as long as life endures.
The song “Amazing Grace” written by the slave trader John Newton in 1779 beautifully summarizes Apostle Paul’s motivation in overcoming the hardships he faced. I am sure if Paul heard the lyrics to the song, he would have fully agreed that it was the grace of God that brought him through the many trials and ultimately leading him to build a triumphant and glorious ministry for the Lord.
As Paul recognises God’s gift of reconciliation, he appealed to the Corinthian Church for their need to recognise the same as well. He was concerned with the lack of impact of the gospel message on the Church and urged them “not to receive God’s grace in vain”. They had rejected him as an evangelist of God where he was regarded as an imposter and was ignored by the Church even though he was preaching the true gospel message. In addition, he went through sufferings for the sake of his ministry and that included beatings, imprisonments and riots. As he included these events in his letter to them, he intended for this to reflect as an assurance of his love for the Church. For them he had undergone a great deal of suffering and had hoped that they would open their hearts in receiving the message of “Amazing Grace” he had been preaching. Unfortunately, despite the tough price that he paid for his faithfulness to God’s ministry, the Corinthian Church still did not appreciate him for what he has done for them.
Three lessons we can learn are: One, labouring for the Lord is tough, but we can be motivated by God’s extension of His “Amazing Grace” to us to overcome these hardships. All praise and glory to be given to our Lord as He uses us as ministers to those around us. Two, we need to show more appreciation towards the labourers of Christ in our Church, such as Elders, Deacons, ministry leaders, Church workers and missionaries. Many times, we forget to thank them for their efforts in keeping the Church and Ministries in proper order. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we should show more encouragement to them in letting them know their work is not in vain. Thirdly, after testing the marks of a true minister, we should have open hearts in receiving his preaching of the gospel. Believing in the message of the gospel is the reason why we can rejoice and give praise for the hope that God has revealed to us of an eternal life and this joy is aptly captured in the lyrics of the last paragraph of “Amazing Grace”:
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’ve first begun.
