DAY 27

UNMERITED & UNDESERVED

JOHN MACDONALD, LEAD PASTOR, THE WOODS CHURCH

There is something profoundly beautiful and deeply mysterious about the grace of God. It’s more than a doctrine, more than a theological term; grace is the very heartbeat of the Christian life. It’s the beginning, the middle, and the sustaining force behind every step on our journey with Jesus. Without grace, none of us would even be on this path. With grace, everything changes.

Grace is often defined as God’s unmerited favor or His love we don’t deserve. But even those definitions fall short of capturing the power and scope of what grace really is. Grace is the gift of God reaching into our mess, our brokenness, our rebellion, and calling us His own. It’s God’s strength in our weakness, His mercy in our failure, His patience in our wandering. Grace doesn’t just forgive, it transforms.

One of the most enduring hymns in all of Christian history is “Amazing Grace.” Its words have echoed in churches, prisons, hospital rooms, and open fields for more than two hundredyears. But the story behind the song is just as powerful as thelyrics themselves.

John Newton, the hymn’s author, wasn’t always a pastor or a pillar of the faith. He was once the captain of a slave ship, responsible for unspeakable atrocities. Yet, during a storm at sea, Newton cried out to God, and God met him with grace. That moment didn’t just save Newton’s life; it transformed it. He eventually abandoned the slave trade, became a preacher, and even helped lead the charge to abolish slavery in the British Empire.

At the end of his life, Newton said, “My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior.” That’s the essence of grace. It finds us where we are, but it never leaves us there.

Few stories in Scripture capture the shock and scandal of God’s grace like the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. Saul was a religious zealot, a persecutor of Christians, a man fueled by hatred and pride. And yet, on his way to hunt down followers of Jesus in Damascus, grace interrupted his life.

In Acts 9, Saul was knocked to the ground by a light from heaven and confronted by the voice of Jesus Himself. “Why are you persecuting me?” Jesus asked. In that moment, Saul's life turned upside down. Blinded, humbled, and undone, he was led to Damascus, where a faithful disciple named Ananias laid hands on him, and his sight was restored, both physically and spiritually.

Saul became Paul, the greatest missionary and theologian the early church had ever known. He went from persecuting the church to planting churches. From breathing out murderous threats to preaching about eternal life. That’s the power of grace. It doesn’t just stop sin, it births purpose.

Ephesians 2:8–9 reminds us that:

...it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.

If we truly understood this, we would live with greater joy and deeper humility. We didn’t earn God’s grace. You can perform better to get more or perform worse to receive less. We simply receive God’s grace in all its fullness. 

This truth shatters the performance-based systems that dominate so much of life. The world tells us to earn, impress, climb, and prove ourselves. But God whispers, “Come just as you are. My grace is enough.” Just like you wouldn’t try to pay someone back for a gift they have given you, you don’t pay God back for His grace. You just say “thank You,” then follow Jesus in humble obedience.

Titus 2:11 declares,

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.

Grace doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t belong only to the churchgoers, the well-behaved, or the religious elite. Grace is for the tax collector in the tree, the thief on the cross, the broken woman at the well, and the prostitute dragged into the streets for her crime.

Not too many people liked Zacchaeus. He was a crooked tax collector who deceived and lied to others in order to get rich. In fact Scripture says he was despised by his neighbors. Yet, Jesus invited Himself to his home, and Zacchaeus’s life was never the same. That’s grace! It meets us where we are, but never leavesus unchanged.

Romans 5:20 says,

Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.

Sin is real. It damages, distorts, separates, and hurts everyone around you, especially those closest to you. Sin is strong, but grace is stronger. God’s grace will always win if you are willing to receive it. No matter what your past holds, God’s grace is bigger.

Remember the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15)? He took his inheritance early, dishonored his father, wasted it on wild living, and came crawling home in shame. But what did the father do? He ran to meet him, embraced him and restored him back as a son of that house. That’s grace. Scandalous, extravagant, unrelenting grace. It doesn’t wait for you to clean yourself up. It embraces you while you’re still in rags.

At the heart of grace is not a concept, but a person. His name is Jesus. John 1:14 says,

The Word became flesh…

Jesus didn’t just bring grace. He is grace. His life, death, and resurrection are the ultimate display of God’s kindness, compassion, and mercy.

Jesus is the light in our darkness, the bread of life that feeds our soul, the gate to the narrow road. He is the way, the truth, and the life. When we come to the throne of grace, we’re not coming to a distant deity, we’re running to Jesus.

PRAYER: Gracious Heavenly Father, I stand in awe of Your amazing grace. I confess that I could never earn it, nor do I deserve it, and yet You freely give it. Thank You for meeting me in my weakness, for rescuing me when I was far from You, and for calling me by name when I had nothing to offer but my brokenness. Jesus, You are the fullness of grace. You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Help me to follow You closely, not in my own strength, but in total dependence on You. Teach me to trust Your grace in my struggle, to receive it in my failure, and to extend it to others who need it just as much as I do. Lord, let Your grace reshape my thoughts, soften my heart, and guide my steps. Help me remember that Your grace is not a one-time gift, it’s a daily supply. Today, I come boldly to the throne of grace—not because of who I am, but because of who You are. Fill me with joy, peace, and a renewed sense of purpose. May my life reflect the glory of the One who saved me by grace and now empowers me to live by grace. In the name of Jesus, who is Grace itself, Amen.