Ignorant Grace

If you're part of The Wesleyan Church you most likely heard a sermon on grace and sung some version of Amazing Grace in church this past Sunday. This was a denominational thing stemming from the soon release of the movie Amazing Grace. The movie is about the pivotal role William Willberforce and John Newton (the authour of the first version of the hymn Amazing Grace)played in the abolition of slave trade in Europe, which paved the way for the emancipation of slaves in the US less than half a century later. Those of you who know my passion for the civil war know why I'll be seeing it opening night.

Keeping with the theme of grace I'd like to address what I'll call ignorant grace, the unmerited favor we have no idea we have. Whether you prefer the term common grace or prevennient grace, ignorant grace includes them both.

Ignorant grace comes from a perspective that all humanity is depraved of any ability to do good, without God, and consequently is capable of horrific acts and left to ourselves we would and possibly could be far more depraved than we are. What I'm calling ignorant grace is God's active involvement in the affairs of the world through which he sustains humanity and guides us away from the path of destruction we would dispositionally follow, if it were not for God in his grace luring us away from it. Without God's active involvement, which is unknown to man, it is my belief that our world would have long ago become reminiscent of the 70s and 80s nuclear fallout movies and would lead to the ceasing of life on this planet.

As my msn tag said a few weeks ago: Man has only scrapped the surface of his depravity and merely glimpsed the Glory of God's Grace.