The formula of John Newton

"By the grace of God, I am what I am ; and his grace to me was not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15. 10

John Newton (1725-1807) was for years a slave trader. After his conversion, he became a powerful preacher and the author of one of the most famous hymns in the world, "Amazing grace". A close friend of Newton reports some thoughts of Newton towards the end of his life from which we drew this remarkable formula : "I'm not what I was, I'm not what I should be, I'm not what that I would like to be, I am not what I will be, but, by the grace of God, I am what I am."

Let's take these expressions :

- "I'm not what I was" : no doubt, no reader was a slave trader. But even if my conversion has not been as spectacular as Newton's, I know that I have passed from death to life, from the kingdom of darkness to the marvelous light of the kingdom of the beloved Son of the Father, the wrath of God in his permanent favor. I can also gratefully remember my "before" situation and thank God for his work in my life so far, for the transformations he has begun to make.

- "I am not what I should be" : having been so loved by God, possessing the Holy Spirit in me, I have no excuse for continuing to sin. I measure the distance between the position where God has placed me and my daily life and I am often humiliated.

- "I am not what I would like to be" : the Spirit in me arouses a deep desire to be more and more like Jesus Christ. I often want to grow faster in holiness, wisdom, sobriety, grace ...

- "I am not what I will be" : if the work done for me by Christ on the cross is perfect and finished, his work in me will continue until the end of my earthly life. But I know that the imperfect and frustrating situation in which I am today will one day be replaced by the perfection of an eternal life without sin, when I will be like Jesus Christ in all.

- "But, by the grace of God, I am what I am" : then I am encouraged to live today in the grace of God and to draw on this grace the strength to be transformed little by little in the image of his son.

Source (Pleasing the Lord)