That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
~ John Newton
That forgiveness and redemption are undeserved gifts granted to us by Our Father regardless of our actions, and that we can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God there is a growing awareness for the pilgrim of faith in God that our life is being transformed day, by day towards realising a divine plan specifically tailored for us.
John Newton's father was Catholic despite which Newton had no religious feelings until surviving an horrendous storm while serving on a ship in the Royal Navy. For several weeks before the storm Newton had been reading The Christian's Pattern, a summary of the 15th-century The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. Newton had spent his earlier life opposing faith in God, mocking others who showed theirs, deriding and denouncing God as a myth. He came to believe that God had sent him a profound message and had begun to work through him. Nevertheless it would take years before Newton came to terms with his faith in God, working in the slave trade from West Africa until finally leaving the sea to work as a Customs agent in Liverpool.
Eventually Newton would be ordained as priest in the Anglican tradition leading him to pen "Amazing Grace."
The New Testament serves as the foundation for many of the lyrics of "Amazing Grace" with its first verse inspired by the parable of the Prodigal Son. In the Gospel of Luke the father says, "For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost, and is found".
The story of the Prophet Abraham informs us that our journey of self discovery is peppered with sign posts otherwise directions, or fortuitous coincidences leading us where we had never believed we would go.
When Abraham left Ur he had no idea where he was going. God called him, and only God knew what was in store for him. Even after God led him to Canaan he had to live as a pilgrim relying on his faith in God to open a path into his future. Abraham learned to trust in Our Father's love for him despite understanding that a rational appreciation of God's promises raised doubts. Those doubts would be faced with courage knowing that God always delivered on His promises.
The person of faith obeys God even when he does not know where he is going ~Hebrews 11:8-10
(Amazing Grace) https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/313
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