“This Is The Gift Of God” Story Behind The Song With Carl Cartee

“This Is the Gift of God”

Words and Music by Carl Cartee and Jon Abel

Song Story by Carl Cartee

I really love the story behind “This Is the Gift of God” because was truly a five loaves and two fish kind of experience. Jon Abel, a fellow Great Worship Songs writer (and friend) and I had been writing all morning and not getting very far. Sometimes the best intentions to create a great song fall short, and that day we were fading quickly. We were having a good time, but just not coming up with anything worth putting on the page. In an attempt to revive the creative fire, we decided to go eat some fish tacos. After all, Jesus ate fish and we were trying to be faithful. After a good conversation about worship and the Bible, things started getting on track.

Once we came back from lunch, Jon started playing this progression and humming something totally different than what we had worked on earlier.

I loved it and started singing some ideas. The first two chapters of Ephesians have always been of particular importance to me because of their beautifully written truths about salvation. The “Gift of God” started coming into focus when we started singing about the great truths of grace, adoption and mercy from the first two chapters of Ephesians. As a kid who grew up thinking I had to convince Jesus to love me, it’s very easy to recall the moment that I was given the gift of grace. It never gets old to sing about the greatest free and unearned gift ever given. Jon and I went to the scriptures and crafted the lyrics from what we both knew was the cornerstone of Christianity: Salvation through faith, not of works, lest any person boast. In another hour we had finished our song and the power of God, once again, received what started as a meager offering and turned it into a huge blessing for worshippers everywhere.

more about ““This Is The Gift Of God” Story Behin…“, posted with vodpod