The Different Faces of Grace
Grace. Just what is grace? Why did I choose the word grace for my paper? I chose the word grace because it means something to me personally, and I wanted to enhance my knowledge of it's many meanings. When I think of the word grace, I think of something wonderful,something powerful. To me, grace is more than just a word, it is a gift from God. I have always known it's definition to be "receiving what is undeserved." An example of grace is forgiveness. No one "deserves" to be forgiven. Forgiveness is something we "undeservingly receive." So, that makes forgiveness a form of grace. I first learned these things from my parents, from church sermons, and from studying the Bible. I have often confused the definitions of grace and mercy. Mercy is "not receiving what is deserved." For example, in a court of law, a judge may show mercy to the convicted person by pronouncing a sentence less severe than the law allows for an offense. Grace and mercy go hand in hand; it is impossible to have one without the other. Grace is a big part of my life because it allows me to love and forgive others. If I were not living under "God's grace" I am not so sure I could forgive others as easily as I do. The
I found an interesting article in Guidepost magazine about a woman and her personal encounter with grace. Sandra Wright is the woman who experienced God's grace. Wright was a mother of three who had no money for food to feed her children. She was desperate for money and decided the easiest thing to do was to rob a convenience store with a gun. Before she went into the store a voice called her by name. This voice told her to take the bullets out of the gun, Even William Shakespeare refers to grace in a few of his plays. One such play is Hamlet. The following is an example of the word grace used in Hamlet. Stay illusion! If thou hast any sound or use of voice,Speak to me! If there be any good thing to be done conflicts that have already been overcome by grace. It tells how grace is a shelter, and that it will be with us until the end of our days. According to The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) the English spelling of grace comes from the French word grace. The word grace goes back to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries when it was spelled grass or grease. The history of grace originated from the Latin word gratia which lead to the Spanish word, gracia, the Portuguese word, graca, and the Italian word, grazia. The first definition given in the OED is "pleasing quality, gracefulness." The archaic definition is "pleasantness of flavor." Both of these definitions deal with something being pleasant or pleasing to a person. The first definition in the unabridged dictionary states the same when it reads "elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action." For example, when a person says someone moves gracefully, like a ballerina, they are referring to grace as an elegant motion. The second definition in the unabridged dictionary is "a pleasing or attractive quality or endowment." These definitions show that grace also deals with beauty, and beauty is definetly a pleasing quality. One interesting thing I discovered is there once was a game called "the graces." The game was played with hoops and a pair of slender rods. It got its name because it helps develop graceful movements of the arms (OED). Earlier in this paper I said that, to me, grace is something wonderful, beautiful, and powerful. The reason I say this is because of the hymn, "Amazing Grace." This hymn has been around for many, many years. I would say that there are very few, if any, people in the U. S. who have not sung or at least heard of this hymn. This song is very special to many people, Christians in particular. There is, in my opinion, something powerful behind the lyrics of this song. When I sing "Amazing Grace" and really concentrate on the words, I get a wonderful sense of joy and realization of what God has done for me. The fourth verse of the hymn is one of my favorites. "Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come; Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace shall lead me home." I think this verse is beautiful. It tells of problems and
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2175
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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