Note the cross in the background of the tarnished crown
When those we look up to let us down and misplaced crowns lay on the ground (tarnished and with missing jewels), we grieve for what’s been lost.
Innocence. Integrity. Fidelity. Trust.
Missing virtues once embraced are gone for good without a trace. And we are left to wonder why while looking in a mirror.
At times like this we have a choice: to voice our disappointment with God (and others) or to contemplate what’s so amazing about grace.
I choose the latter.
*This poem was written in response to the news that a noted Christian author had admitted to an eight-year extra-marital affair. Two of the author’s books are referenced in the poem: Disappointment with God and What’s So Amazing About Grace.
Pastor John F. Mac Arthur, Jr. as a young preacher
Grace to you and grace to me. It’s only grace that sets us free from failed attempts to earn God’s love and the shame from wrong we’ve done.
And thanks to you, dear Pastor John, it’s the Son of God we’re counting on to guarantee our hope in death. Your teaching made that clear.
You helped us know the Father’s face is only seen in Christ’s embrace. And as you now behold that Face, I’m grateful. “Grace to you!”
I was first introduced to “Pastor John” when he was the guest speaker on his father’s television program “The Voice of Calvary” that my dad and I watched on Sundays when I was a boy.
As a pastor’s kid, I was impressed with this father-son duo. “Johnny” (as his father Jack called him) resembled his dad physically as well as in his mannerisms and preaching style. At the time young “Johnny” MacArthur was in seminary.
Because our family lived in the Pacific Northwest, I made note of the fact that the older MacArthur moved to Eugene, Oregon after pastoring in Southern California for several decades. He was a near neighbor! Well, kind of.
The year Wendy and I became engaged, she was working at Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C. The pastor of the local Evangelical Free Church was a sixty-nine-year-old Jack MacArthur. Pastor Jack truly was a near neighbor to Wendy.
“Johnny” would later out-distance his father in prominence through his megachurch in the San Fernando Valley (Grace Community Church), the Master’s College and Seminary (that he founded) and his daily radio program “Grace to You!”
Although I took issue with some of Pastor John’s theological perspectives and often found him less-positive in his delivery (compared to his upbeat radio ministry counterpart Pastor Chuck Swindoll), I salute his lasting contribution to the Kingdom of God. Peace to his memory!
In addition to each week’s post on this website, Greg Asimakoupoulos offers daily video devotionals on his YouTube channel. Here is a sample video. If you are interested in receiving these devotionals Monday through Friday, you can subscribe on Greg’s channel.
This month marks the 250th anniversary of Amazing Grace
How sweet the sound! Amazing Grace played on a piper’s bag. The haunting drone enveloped me with peace. A tune I love reminded me that lost souls can be found and those we lose to death find faith’s release.
John Newton knew this truth first hand. By grace his life was saved. A reprobate became a parish priest. Through many dangers toils and snares, ‘twas grace that helped him see that all are objects of God’s love… the greatest to the least.
This month marks the 250th anniversary of the most-loved hymn of all time. I was grateful for Neil Hubbard’s rendition of Amazing Grace at a memorial service I recently conducted. Truly amazing!
My Rhymes and Reasons 