Amazing Grace

DURING SOLITARY confinement, prisoners often passed the time thinking through their past lives. During the long days and nights in a place called The Zoo, Ralph Gaither went over it all. As he did so, he paid special attention to the path of his spiritual progress. He was raised in the Methodist Church, attended regularly, and participated in youth fellowship. He was encouraged by his mother to try other denominations and often went to different churches. His choice was frequently centered on the girl he was dating at the time.

At the insistence of one particular girl, Ralph went to a Christian retreat with a group of other teenagers, where he participated in group activities and a lot of singing. He was seventeen years old. At one point the group sang the moving hymn, “Amazing Grace,” and Ralph remembered, “I thought my heart would come out.” At the conclusion of the song, the leader put down his guitar and opened a Bible. He read from Ephesians.

At that moment, Ralph’s heart was filled with God’s grace. Amazing grace. He remembered what went through his mind: “I had always thought being a Christian meant earning your way. The difficulty of the Christian life had dominated my thinking about salvation. That night I found Christ as my Savior.”

Every Christian at some point in his or her spiritual journey experiences the breathtaking simplicity of the gospel message. We don’t have to work our way to God. We simply have to receive a gift. By his grace and through his Son, God opens the door for us to be with him in this life and for all eternity.

We want to thank AMG Publishers and Larkin Spivey for providing this plan. For the complete devotional or more information, visit: battlefieldsandblessings.com. To learn more about AMG International's gospel work around the world, visit: amginternational.org.