Skip to Main Content
Women of the ELCA
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • Tools For Leaders
  • Publications
  • Daily Grace
  • Contact
  • Ministry & Action
    • Discipleship
    • Justice
      • Human Trafficking
      • Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
      • Racial Justice Advocacy
      • Racial Justice Advocacy Network resources
      • Domestic Violence
    • Membership
    • Stewardship
      • Thankofferings
      • Faithful Friends
      • Katie’s Fund
      • Gift Planning
    • Special Initiatives
      • Rachel’s Day
      • Raising Up Healthy Women & Girls
    • Scholarships
      • Lutheran laywomen
      • Lutheran Ordained Ministry
  • Resources
  • About
    • History
    • Executive Board
    • Staff
    • Get Involved
  • Events
  • Belong
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • Tools For Leaders
  • Publications
  • Daily Grace
  • Contact
« Back to All Daily Grace

Radical love

5.23.2015
|
Daily Grace

I grew up in parsonages, the daughter of a convert to Christianity. My father was raised in a home where religion was primarily about civic responsibility and adherence to a system of healing found in the Christian Science church.

As a young adult preparing for marriage, Dad took instruction in the Lutheran church of my mother’s family. There he heard the words of grace that our tradition proclaims so well. It was a radical encounter with the grace and the love of a generous God. For Dad, it was life changing. As he subsequently graduated from seminary and was ordained into pastoral ministry, the story of God’s unconditional love was the lens through which he proclaimed God’s grace.

He rarely talked about conversion and he never used his own life’s story as a way of giving credence to Christianity. God’s love shown to us in the life and death of Jesus was THE story.

This is one of the ways I came to experience God’s love, generosity, and grace. At home, at church, with family and friends, I saw and heard and felt the mystery of God’s love in Jesus. I knew it was radical then, and I know that now.

This message was adapted from “Grace and Gratitude” written by Julie K. Aageson that first appeared in the November 2010 issue of Lutheran Woman Today (now Gather) magazine.

Share this post

Sign up for Daily Grace

Daily Grace is an on-the-go companion for your journey, offering a faith reflection every day. Encounter God’s extravagant, boundless and often surprising grace by signing up for a daily email message.

Back to home

8765 W. Higgins Rd.

Chicago IL 60631

800-638-3522

[email protected]

Stay In Touch

Sign up for the WELCA Newsletter

Explore WELCA
  • Ministry & Action
  • Daily Grace
  • Resource Library
  • Events
  • Blog
  • News
  • About WELCA
  • Tools For Leaders
  • Publications
  • Donate
  • Shop
  • Photos
Explore Publications

Bold Cafe

A Lutheran perspective for women of Christian faith or any woman who is interested in how faith relates to the issues facing women today.

Gather Magazine

A mix of articles, theological reflections, devotions and stories of comfort and challenge that help readers grow in faith.

Cafe Podcast

Subscribe to our podcast:

Click to subscribe

© Copyright 2025 Women of the ELCA. All Rights Reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
© Copyright 2025 Women of the ELCA. All Rights Reserved.