I grew up going to church. Two churches actually. Catholic mass and Church of Christ services, depending on which parent or grandparent I was with. I attended Catholic school and Church of Christ church services three times a week at different times of my life.
The Church of Christ is very different from the Catholic Church. We attended the old school Church of Christ denomination. You know, the one with no musical instruments, grape juice and alter calls? These Christian denominations are very different, almost polar opposites in much of their doctrine.
Yet while being very different, they offered the same message on Easter Sunday. Jesus died so that we might live. Basic. Easy. True.
My life has taken lots of turns. My sin has been easy to ignore and other times bared down on me like a anchor. I have been called forward to confess them in alter calls and private confessionals. I forget on a daily basis to ask God to forgive my feeble attempts at following Him.
Yet, the message is always there. Jesus died so we might live, all we have to do is accept the gift.
This song is one of a few that are sung in both churches I grew up attending. I love the words and the old tune. It makes me tear up every time I hear it, whether I am in church or at a folk festival.
Mumford sings it like they mean it from their hearts. When I hear it, it reminds me that I have a chance and that the massive, overwhelming gift I am offered is mine for the taking. Basic. Easy. True.
O to grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here's my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.
