John Newton, a slave-ship captain who became a minister and abolitionist, had a special affinity for grace. In fact, he wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace” to celebrate the freedom that God gives to Christians. “I am not what I ought to be,” Newton said. “I am not what I want to be. I am not what I hope to be. But still, I am not what I used to be. And by the grace of God, I am what I am.”

“Faith is permitting ourselves to be seized by the things we do not see.”
– Martin Luther