Persistent Grace

Encouraged by John Newton's admonitions, William Wilberforce continued his fight to end the slave trade for many years. Even after suffering defeat after defeat, Wilberforce returned to Newton's words:

Though you have not, as yet, fully succeeded in your persevering endeavors to abolish the slave trade, the business is still in process.

But the grace of persistence shored up his ailing body and tortured spirit, giving him the strength he needed to see another day. On February 23, 1807 - twenty years after he had originally taken up the cause - the House of Commons rose to its feet in tribute to William Wilberforce. Cheering the weeping champion of abolition, they proceeded to vote by an overwhelming majority to abolish the slave trade throughout the British Empire.


A few months later, John Newton, the man who had encouraged Wilberforce to enter and continue the battle, died. But not before seeing the fulfillment of his prophetic admonition of William Wilberforce: Though he had enemies, they could not prevail against him. And not without seeing his young friend live out the lyrics he had penned many years before.

Persistent Grace
Lasting redemption often demands persistent dedication.

For an inspiring story on how the lives of John Newton, author of the hymn Amazing Grace, and William Wilberforce, the politician who led the fight against slave trade in England, see the book Finding God in the Story of Amazing Grace by Kurt Bruner and Jim Ware.

Active Engagement

Calling Grace

William Wilberforce was a wealthy and gifted young man who decided to run for elections as a member of the House of Commons. Because he was so well known in his district, he had no problem being elected - and reelected many times. Yet as his political career continued to climb, a series of events led to what he termed "the Great Change." In travels across Europe with a friend, he came to accept the grace of Jesus Christ, achieving a settled conviction in his mind of the truth of Christianity.

Within months, Wilberforce found himself troubled by the implications his conversion carried with it. He knew such beliefs required one to act upon them, not merely give vague intellectual assent. It even led to his consideration leaving the Parliament to enter a life of solitude. This possibility led to a series of conversations with his closest friend William Pitt and his boyhood preacher, John Newton. In their own ways, each encouraged Wilberforce to view public life as the place where he might do all the good possible in service to Christ.

Wilberforce chose to "remain where Providence placed me". His decision to fulfill the calling of God to "love thy neighbor as thyself" by using his influence in the Parliament.

The call of God makes secular duties a sacred vocation.

The Power of Love

Restraining Grace

One of the reasons John Newton sailed from England instead of the more lucrative America's trade routes was simple love: he had fallen head over heels for Mary Catlett, the daughter of one of his late mother's closest friends. The trade routes to the Mediterranean at least allowed him to return to see her about once a year. Once, staying too long, he was pressed into the service of the Royal Navy - a five year journey that would surely mean the end of his relationship with Mary.

Despairing of her love, he even contemplated throwing himself into the sea in an act of final desperation. Yet incredible as it may sound, romantic love may sometimes have the potential to become a powerful vehicle of redeeming grace in the life of a fallen man. Later in life he wrote that only the thought of Mary kept him from any rash actions, and he waited and persevered throughout the long years to return to her.

God protects us from ourselves by the power of love

Grace Along the Journey

For John Newton, life was a miracle of grace from beginning to end. One of the most miraculous things about it was the way God spoke to him at every stage, surrounding him with assurances of His love and care.



Warning Grace

At age 17 Newton sailed away on a merchant ship bound for the Mediterranean. After the terrible disappointment of his mother's death, Newton began sailing on ships at age 11. He was "exposed to the company and ill example of the common sailors." His mother's teachings faded away, and he "was making large strides towards a total apostasy from God."

At this point, he had a dream - a vision where God visited him with a warning. He came to see it as a symbolic representation of the direction his life was taking and a solemn indication of the risk he ran in despising the treasure entrusted to him in early childhood. Many years later he would look back and recall the details of the dream and he marveled at the miracle of warning grace that had been granted to him even while in a state of stubborn, self-willed rebellion.

God has provided us clues for the journey.

Grace...

As I have posted recently, the story of the intertwining of the lives of John Newton and William Wilberforce continues to have a profound impact on my life. Here is a brief introduction to these men:

John Newton - former merchant captain, pastor in the Church of England, composer of over 300 hymns - the most famous of which is Amazing Grace

William Wilberforce - wealthy member of Parliament who upon his conversion experience, led a 40+ year fight against slavery in Britain.

My introduction to the wonderful story of these two men may have been a video, but the more I research and study, the more "amazing" I find the grace of God.

The book Finding God in the Story of Amazing Grace by Kurt Bruner and Jim Ware is a powerful but simple introduction to some vignettes in the lives of these two men and the circle of influence that surrounded them. In a quick succession of brief biographical chapters describing a different kind of grace, the authors give us a wonderfully rich illustration of the grace that only God can give.

Look for signs of God's grace in these brief glimpses of the lives of John Newton and William Wilberforce - and you will find them in your own life.

Maternal Grace - John Newton's mother Elizabeth was a solid Christian lady who made sure her son was brought up in the faith. As a boy, John loved his mother deeply and followed her teachings - until her tragic death when he was only 7 years old. As a young adult, anger at God for his mother's death took him far from God. But God was never far from him; later as an adult he wrote often of the memory of his mother and how her faith guided him even when he wasn't aware of it. That's the power of a mother's love.

In the beginning, there is grace.