Grace Must Wound

"It was Flannery O'Connor who said that "grace must wound before it heals." Her words help me to separate what is most true about life from the things we want to be true. We want life to be painless. True grace is a hard sell because in order for the human heart to understand forgiveness and love, it must first experience darkness and isolation. A life lived under the rule of grace is a life of need which allows us to receive an appreciate the gift of the giver of grace. This is why we will always have the poor with us; this is why God will not allow us to ignore injustice; this is why we are called to a life we cannot handle alone, which can and will break us in the effort to live it -- because grace must wound before it heals". – Justin McRoberts, from the “Grace Must Wound” CD

“The Secret of the Easy Yoke” by David Bazan (Pedro the Lion), covered on Justin McRoberts “Grace Must Wound” CD.

i could hear the church bells ringing
they pealed aloud your praise
the members faces were smiling
with their hands out stretched to shake
it's true they did not move me
my heart was hard and tired
their perfect fire annoyed me
i could not find you anywhere

could someone please tell me the story
of sinners ransomed from the fall
i still have never seen you
and some days i don't love you at all

the devoted were wearing bracelets
to remind them why they came
some concrete motivation
when the abstract could not do the same
but if all that's left is duty
i'm falling on my sword
at least then i would not serve
an unseen distant lord

could someone please tell me the story
of sinners ransomed from the fall
i still have never seen you
and some days i don't love you at all

if this is only a test
i hope that i'm passing
cause i'm losing steam
and i still want to trust you….

peace be still