"Before Me"

Before Me

By Alan Johnson

Before I could comprehend my needs

Or know the extent of sinful deeds

Before I’d seen your loving face

Or the condition of the human race

Before I knew what love meant

Or saw it in the Son You sent

Before the fall of the first man

You had already formed a plan

Before I was born into sin

You saw my life and entered in

Before I’d even breathed a breath

Your Son, for me, had tasted death

So now I stand in Your light

Not by merit or by right

But simply by an unfair trade

Without my knowledge You had made

Finding myself an unworthy recipient

Being blessed while completely ignorant

For while still drowning unknowingly

You saw and simply came to me

And before I could even ask You to

You pulled me up to be with You

So this is a poem I wrote a while ago and thought I would share it. I wrote this in response to a testimony I had heard that was full of painful circumstances and incredible brokenness. However, in the midst of the heartache emerged one of the best pictures of grace I have ever seen. At the center of the brokenness was a savior who moved in spite of the individuals. The person explained how despite everything that was happening God was present, He moved in her life before she could even comprehend who He was. It is easy to cast ourselves with leading parts in our stories, but the reality is that the story of grace is one of Christ alone. Salvation comes to us through the grace of God and the Love of a Father who knows the needs of His children before they can comprehend the sinful brokenness they are trapped within.