Faith or Grace

Does faith come first or does God's grace come first?
Does God give grace that helps us to believe,
or does faith foster grace in one big burst?
Yet without grace how can we faith conceive?

To grow, faith must be nourished by God's grace,
like ground whose thirst is quenched by gentle rain,
faith grows with grace as we respond apace,
unless faith dies as we spurn grace like Cain.

Faith is a gift, we do not merit it,
both gifts are like two sides of the same coin,
God's gifts us grace to make our soul's faith fit,
yet it takes our free will to make them join.

I can't unravel how they're intertwined,
give me, God, lots of faith and grace combined.

                                -- by Pete Voelz       5/08