You Are A Mere Mortal Wrapped in Grace and Mercy

The quality of mercy: ‘’It blesseth him that gives and him that takes’’. The Greek’s word for mercy is eleos and for grace, charis.

God, through his word defines mercy as the act of withholding deserved punishment, while grace is the act of gifting unmerited favor. Two sides of the same coin–mercy and grace are both wrapped in love, the path of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Imagine that someone strove to grab you by the throat while his partner in crime forcefully removed your expensive leather shoes but a vigilant crowd surrounds them baying for blood. You then learned that the robbers were just in a desperate situation and didn’t intend to do any harm at all.

Instead of calling the police, running for dear life, screaming your lungs out or joining in the mob justice, you chose to pardon the thieves and let the matter go – that my dear friend is mercy.

You then rally the crowd and give the robbers food, a few coins to get their family through this trying time and a sworn affidavit to meet you at church on Sunday for the 11am deliverance service– that’s grace.

That would be a rare occasion in a world where mistakes are fleetly and swiftly punished and benevolence is only for the laudable. Grace and mercy are an absolute necessity.

Psalm 145:8-9: The Lord is gracious and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. 

Are all the Biblical characters innocent? Did they sin? Well, let’s find out.

Let’s look at some Christianity prominent stories in the bible:

1. Stick to Your Wife Thou Husband: King David, the handsome warrior described as a man after God’s own heart despite being a great ruler, was a fornicator and an adulterer- He also had a repentant heart. Not only did God forgive him, but He also endowed him with unmerited favor and used him to accomplish His purpose.
2. Stop The Murder Madness: Saul was a Christian hunter and persecutor, yet God converted him to become Paul, the apostle of Christ- the author of nearly half of the New Testament.
3. Till Death Do us Part-Not Man: Abraham feared and lied. I mean, your wife is now your sister because of her beauty and your fear of being struck by a king. Sounds crazy, right? Wrong. He without sin cast the first stone. Abraham was forgiven and received many blessings for himself and generations to come.
4. Bun In The Oven at 100: Sara was impatient. Playing a god with her maid servant, and laughing when she heard her womb would open at an old age- where science would fiercely beg to differ. God blessed her with Isaac-that favored man.
5. Is a Good Offense the Best Defense? Peter was temperament and denied Jesus- that cock crew and shamed him to a river of tears, yet God used him to preach leading to about 3,000 receiving salvation.
6. Reborn At River Holy: Mary Magdalene was demon-possessed, yet God graciously gave her a wonderful chance of being the first witness of the risen Christ and as a ministry enthusiast.
7. The Repetitive Offenders: The Israelites rebelled many times against God – yet God still used all of them to accomplish His purposes. All of them however paid the consequences that comes with sin- wrongdoings have a natural punishment that can not be evaded. God forgives us but sin’s consequences are ineludible.

Responding to Grace and Mercy

So now, how do we respond to God’s love?

• Acknowledge- You Better Recognize

We must first recognize our need for God’s mercy and grace, shed our pride and shift our focus away from ourselves and acknowledge His presence and blessings in our lives.

• Accept- You Better Know Your Identity in Christ

We bear in us the deep desire of humanity for freedom. Who does not like free things? Food-anyone? God has offered us His mercy and grace for free.

• Grow- You Better Sow and Reap Big

Accepting God’s grace means we grow in his love. His seeds of love planted in our hearts will take root and bear fruits. God is faithful and His promises never fail.

Grace is often classified into two types:

• Common: An across the board and universal grace from God to all of humanity regardless of their faith in Him. Our life choices, beauty in nature, our resources, etc., are great examples.
• Saving grace: Salvation as manifested in Jesus Christ himself, whom God sent to save us all.

2 John 1:3: Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. Ephesians 1:2: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Would You Like to accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior? Click here https://thelovetablet.com/2022/04/12/prayer-of-salvation/