Lately, I have been thinking a lot about God’s grace in my life. Before I go any further, to show you grace, if you do not like reading but found yourself here, I will give you my main points. First, I feel we talk about grace and love to the point where it is almost an overwhelming topic that we want to move on from. Second, that’s ok, that’s why there is grace. And third, we all have experienced grace to some extent and have a great reason to worship because of it, thus we should go and live lives of worship.

Why is grace so important? I recently had an overwhelming moment with my brother Timbo Smith as we were doing music for a youth group’s weekend youth retreat. We have the great privilege to be in an admissions team worship band, a unique opportunity that I am so blessed to be a part of. I know I do not deserve this opportunity I have been given, being able to play and speak into lives of hundreds of kids. After a chapel we did on this retreat, we went off in different directions; but Tim and I ended up going to this dock on the edge of this lake at the camp hosting the youth retreat. As we sat on the dock on this dark starry night, across the lake was a cross lit by a bright light. Just before, in the chapel, we had just sang Scandal of Grace by Hillsong United, and the words were flowing through both our minds. In that moment we both reflected on the goodness of God’s grace, recalling the first verse to the song, “Grace, what have You done? Murdered for me on that cross Accused in absence of wrong My sin washed away in Your blood Too much to make sense of it all I know that Your love breaks my fall The scandal of grace, You died in my place So my soul will live.”

Too often we hear these songs, the words in sermons, in classes, etc. and do not consider just how intense this grace is. We are so WORTHLESS. WORTHLESS! But, God —my two favorite words in the whole Bible— showed us an unfathomable grace and love, a desire for us, in which he died for us. Realizing this, I was crying and worshiping on that lake, thinking of my sins just from the past week, and yet how much more I have done in which that God has shown grace throughout my life.
Without God, let’s just say I would not be here. However, with God, I have, you have, we have, a great reason to live: to know this God who has graced us with eternal life in Him when we deserve eternal damnation. My life is a story of God’s grace and a testimony of his mercy. Despite our (mine especially included) struggles, addictions, and sins, God loves and wants us. My response is worship through how I live out of the overwhelmed disbelief of how great God is! I challenge you readers, to challenge yourselves and others in reflecting on your lives and seeing how God has shown you grace and how you can show grace and love to others, not just in your friend groups, Cairn community, or workplaces, but everywhere and to everyone.