In graduate school, my friends from above the Mason-Dixon line would often laugh that I was “fluent” in four languages: French, German, English, and Southern. Almost 20 years later, fluent definitely has a definition, and I have English teachers who would line up to testify that any level of proficiency I achieved was not due to a love of the subject.
However, as our house relives various grade levels, I am reminded that one area of English I did like - as strange as it sounds - was diagramming sentences. I liked, and still like, the analysis and the structure that comes with looking at each little word. And oh, how that breakdown of sentences can hit me where it counts.
"But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
- Titus 3:4-7 (ESV)
Who “he” is and “his” attributes, works, and plan point out the inability of “us.”
The subject is our God. He saved us. He poured out his Spirit. His attributes of goodness, loving kindness, mercy, and grace reflect his undeniable role as Creator, Savior, King of Kings, Lamb, and Provider. All three persons of the Trinity are revealed in this saving work as well: God the Father (the King, able to designate heirs), God the Son (our Savior), and God the Spirit (the source of regeneration and renewal).
The direct object is us. He saved us—we could not, would not, and did not save ourselves. The object of the preposition is us. Not by our actions, accomplishments, or works, but by his mercy and grace.
It's in the adverbs: He doesn’t just provide; he provides richly. It's in the predicates: He does not just make us inhabitants, but heirs.
How often in the heat of daily battles, as I am focusing on the direct object (ME), do I lose focus of the subject (HE)? What freedom and security he allows me to derive when the sentence is diagrammed correctly --- with him up front, and me as simply the object of his saving grace.
Who knew some elementary grammar could reveal so much?
