His Loss, My Gain

His loss, my gain. These words do more than summarize, they exact the whole import of the cross. Grace is always cross-shaped and redemption is always particular. Not to detract from his general work of securing future grace since Christ died for the sins of the world, but, astonishingly, he offered himself up for my sin in particular.  Although I will never choose to escape the responsibility and privilege of life enjoyed in community with family and friends, something deep within rouses to the thought of excusing myself from the company of others in order to relish and revel privately in the ecstasy of grace, unimaginable pardon for unforgivable sin. You may not hear it from my lips in word or harmony, but my soul breaks free in jubilant round, descanting my own strain of mercy inserted above the anthem of the redeemed. Forever will I declare his loss as my gain and his grace as my life.