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"Didn’t Have To Do It"by Rachael Mann: From Deserted to the Greatest Love of All


Rachael Mann's "Didn't Have To Do It" opens with an "alone stranger in deserted land," who discovers that she/he was never invisible. We have a Savior who has "always been there You have never left my side." Jesus has already written our names in eternal ink, and as Rachael states, he has "taken the cross for me." 

Rachael Mann - Didn’t Have To Do ItThe song is a front-row seat to the fact that Love doesn't stay distant. And most of all, the song is also a protest against that one stubborn lie that keeps haunting us… the lie that tells us that we must earn His grace. 

You'll enjoy this beautiful duet between Rachael Mann and Terell Davy, accompanied by a piano. The two parts of the song that really touched me the most is the part where Mann and Davy sing, "And You tell me with You I'm okay I'm enough // Because I belong to You," followed by a question, "Why You did? You didn't have to do it." The answer? It's so simple that it is almost too hard to accept… it's because He wanted to! That's all there is to it. Grace isn't a transaction, it's His personal gift to you! 

After more than two thousand years, His sacrifice on the cross still feels absurdly generous. "You nailed everything upon that Tree," becomes a personal eviction notice for our feelings of despair. "And all my despair You took it from me." Instead of shame, He gives us belonging. Instead of striving, He gives us rest. Jesus didn't have to die for us, but He chose to out of pure love. 

So, go ahead and press play. Repeat the song until the words "He did it for all of us" feel like they're embedded in your heart. May you live your life as someone who is worth dying for, because that is exactly what He has done for you. Will you say "yes" to His gift?

(Related scripture: John 15:13; Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:4-5)

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