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Jesus Loves Me - Wendy Harmon
I bet this scripture was the first you ever learned. No, really! But you learned it like this:
Jesus loves me, this I know.
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong.
We are weak, but he is strong.
YES! Jesus loves me...
For me, everything I need to know about grace is right there in that simple song. God loves me. ME! No matter how weak I am, or what stupid thing I do or mean thing I say, God loves me! Now.... That doesn't give me a license to do or say hateful things. I said to Emma a few times in her growing up years, "I always love you, but right now, I don't like the way you are acting very much." And I can imagine that God has thought that of me way more than a few times as I've grown (both in years and faith).
Jesus loves me, this I know,
Though my hair is white as snow.
Though my sight is growing dim,
Still He bids me trust in Him.
YES, JESUS LOVES ME... YES, JESUS LOVES ME...
YES, JESUS LOVES ME FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO.
Though my steps are oh, so slow,
With my hand in His I'll go
On through life, let come what may,
He'll be there to lead the way.
YES, JESUS LOVES ME... YES, JESUS LOVES ME...
YES, JESUS LOVES ME FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO.
I love Jesus, does He know?
Have I ever told Him so?
Jesus loves to hear me say,
That I love Him every day.
I love that! And I especially love the line for the last verse, "I love Jesus, does He know?"
The word "grace" comes from the Greek work charis which literally means "gift". The Bible tells us that we can't ever be worthy of such a gift as God's grace, but we CAN say "thank you!" Have you ever given a gift and didn't get a thank you? That happened to me recently. I sent a younger family member a birthday gift to her college (not Emma, she's the thank you queen!) and I got nothin'. Crickets. I don't even know that she got the gift for sure. That's not a good feeling! I freely sent her the gift, but when I didn't hear from her, I have to admit, I sort of regretted sending it. God is better than I am, but I bet God wants that thank you just as much as I do!
One way we can thank God for grace and for all of the other amazing gifts we have been given is by showing grace to others. Later in Ephesians, Paul puts it this way:
1 Therefore, as a prisoner for the Lord, I encourage you to live as people worthy of the call you received from God. 2 Conduct yourselves with all humility, gentleness, and patience. Accept each other with love, 3 and make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the peace that ties you together. 4 You are one body and one spirit, just as God also called you in one hope. (Ephesians 4:1-4 CEB)
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