But for the Grace of God

   I was reading a book and came across a phrase that has stuck with me and come to mind again and again.

          There, but for the grace of God, go I.

  The phrase is supposedly traced back to an English Reformer, John Bradford. As he watched criminals led to their execution he would say; There, but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford. Eventually he was burned at the stake. It is thought he referenced Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:10. But for the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Some people also say it was a quote from John Newton. But no matter the source, the message is the same.

  The moment I read this quote my mind went to a young girl I had seen a few days before. She was a young teen, dressed to attract attention, with a beautiful face. She had an attitude and didn't need anything from anyone. She was with several of her friends but something about her broke my heart. She was dressed so provocatively. What things had she experienced in her short life? The moral standards in these villages are very low. Did she realize the path she was choosing?

  God has blessed me. I was born into a home with a mother and a father. I was taken to church, taught right from wrong, and guided through those tough years. I have never known the fear and uncertainty this girl most likely knew. I had never been so unprotected, so uncared for by my parents. And it is only by God's grace that I am who I am. This poem was written with a different person in mind for each verse. And there are so many more......

She stands by the play ground

Tears running down her cheeks, her body shaking with sobs.

Her heart broken by someone or something

Her toddler heart can’t understand

I smile and wave, wishing to comfort, but she runs away

There, but for the grace of God, go I.

 

She is so fearful she can barely look you in the eye

Her heart and body hurt too many times

 She doesn’t trust, she doesn’t respect, she doesn’t love

She challenges, pushes you away, and then comes back

She doesn’t know what true love is

There, but for the grace of God, go I

 

She sits on a mat with legs outstretched

Skimpy crop top, short skirt and bare feet

She is disrespectful, cocky and better than I

But she can barely meet my eyes

She is so desperate to fill the emptiness inside

There, but for the grace of God, go I.

 

She sits with her head down, her shame exposed

By the babe in her arms and the school books by her side

She is too young to be a mother, too innocent of the cost

That the path she is on has led her to

But where does she go now, who will love her now?

There, but for the grace of God, go I.

 

She stands at my door with a bruise on her cheek

Her husbands rage has left its mark

The next day, teeth marks on her chest

A fight with the woman her husband chose over her

She knows what is right but is desperate to make him pay

There, but for the grace of God, go I

 

She is bent and old and stands feeble before me

She wants money for food and medicine and doctors

The tears fall as she begs, lies flow from her lips

So I give her some rice, a small gift of food, because I can’t just say no

And she turns away in disgust and anger, the feebleness gone

There, but for the grace of God, go I.

What about you? Have you thanked God today for His grace? If you were born into a home with parents that cared for you, have you thanked God? When we look at the broken people around us it should make us feel thankfulness, pity and love. There, but for the grace of God, would we be.