She took
after her mother and grandmother when she lifted up her pen, perhaps early in
the 20th Century and probably while she was living in Peoria,
Illinois (and perhaps occasionally gazing upon Peoria’s waterfront that looked something
like this period photograph from 1909). Julia Johnston’s father, who was a Presbyterian
minister, also must have stimulated her with many a sermon that guided her
thoughts about “Grace Greater Than Our Sin” that she voiced and saw published
by 1911, near the end of her life. No doubt, her life’s work as a Sunday school
teacher and director also helped spur her writing, and was this a reflection of
what she thought students in the bible classrooms should be learning? What she
expressed is a fundamental concept of Christian faith, so was she trying to
ensure that young minds – or even adults’ attentions—did not miss this pillar
of belief?
Julia
Johnston’s life by the time she wrote ‘Grace…’ included decades of effort to
educate and inspire those in her classrooms and anyone who picked up one of the
four books in which her works were circulated. Her upbringing also must have
paid dividends by the time the adult Julia wrote in the early 20th
Century. Forty years as an educator must have meant that probably thousands of
students were directly or indirectly touched by Julia’s influence. She was also
a lifelong poet and hymnist, with reportedly over 500 texts attributed to her. Additionally,
she was president of the Presbyterian Missionary Society for a time, so she
would have been thinking about this grace extending probably much further than the
borders of the Peoria area. Thus, she had a platform. But, the foundation upon
which she first stood and grew was most likely the key to Julia some 40-50
years later – the adult influences in her childhood cannot be exaggerated. Her
matriarchal and patriarchal models say much about Julia Johnston. One can
imagine Julia as the young child or young adult sharing with her mother the
poetry she wrote, episodes in which she was coached and affirmed, fine-tuning
the art form she knew the older women in her life had practiced. Her grandmother,
who while perhaps not present during most of Julia’s childhood, must have had
some impact on Julia through the poetry her mother could have shared with the
child. Woven into this tapestry was the ministry she watched her father
exercise. How often had Pastor Robert Johnston preached on the subject of grace?
We could say at least once, right? Multiple times is a better guess, since
Julia decided as an adult to write a poem devoted wholly to this one idea,
perhaps decades after her father had planted that seed.
Julia was
not a rose-colored glasses-wearing poet because she wrote about a free gift.
No, Julia was evidently in touch with why she stood in need of this most significant
‘G’-word. Verses 1, 2 and 3 contain many words that show she knew about ‘sin’, ‘guilt’
(v.1); ‘despair’, and ‘infinite loss’
(v.2); and a ‘dark stain’ (v.3). ‘Grace…exceeds’ all of those (v.1), she
exults. Accordingly, she uses this word no less than 38 times in her four
verses and the refrain, a reminder that Grace stands tall, despite various
challenges to its power. Julia would have faced numerous grace-needy moments by
the time she wrote about it, so as her life progressed perhaps Julia felt increasingly
the urge to cling to God and His promise of clemency that He offers to all wrongdoers.
Shouldn’t we all!
See more
information on the song story in these sources: The Complete Book of
Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J.
Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; and Amazing
Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck,
Kregel Publications, 1990.
Also see this link, showing all three original verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/g/r/a/g/gragreat.htm
Also see these links for author’s biography: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/j/o/h/n/s/t/johnston_jh.htm
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