“Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 2:1
Not everyone has been blessed to have walked with God from a very early age. Some discover their walk with God as older adults. Such was the case with John Newton, the writer of one of our most loved hymns.
John was born in London, England, in 1725. As a child, his mother taught him Bible stories and sang beautiful hymns to him while his father was away at sea as a commander in the Merchant Marine. John’s mother died when he was only seven years old which caused his childhood and teen years to be very difficult. Many of those years were spent at boarding school, yet he had hopes of one day sailing the high seas with his father. Eventually John was forced to join the British Navy, which he despised. One day he deserted the ship, but was later caught and severely punished. His years on the sea turned John into a hateful, foul-mouthed, sinful character. He was so wicked that the other sailors did all they could to avoid him.
By the time John was in his twenties, his life had become miserable. Then on the night of March 10, 1748, John’s ship encountered a frightening storm. The next day he cried out to the Lord for help. John later wrote, “That tenth of March is a day much remembered by me; and I have never allowed it to pass unnoticed since then.”
For the next few years he captained his own ship which made trips to Africa for the evil purpose of capturing and transporting black people who would be sold as slaves. However, it soon became apparent that the Lord had other plans for “a wretch like him.”
Eventually John married Mary Catlett, his childhood sweetheart. He left the sea behind and attended a seminary. Soon he became a successful pastor in the town of Olney, England. John was not only a gifted preacher, but he also teamed up with his friend William Cowper to write many hymns including, “How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds,” “On What Has Now Been Sown,” and his most popular hymn, “Amazing Grace.” In that beautiful hymn he admitted that, “I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now I see.”
Everyone walking with God has a different background and a different story to tell, but it is God’s amazing grace that touches the hearts of each of them. How thankful we are that God is gracious to us as well!
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
Recent Comments