Mercy and grace: we hear these words tossed around, but do we really understand what they mean? Mercy as defined in the dictionary is “compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.”  After considering this definition for awhile, memories of my teenage years come to mind.

As a teenager, I was a terrible driver. I was inattentive and basically exercised bad judgment. I crashed into my house, I backed over a mailbox, and to make matters worse, I got pulled over (a lot).  Honestly, I don’t remember all the reasons why I got pulled over, but I do remember that I never got a ticket. Instead of receiving the punishment that I deserved, I received the police officers’ mercy in the form of a warning.  It was certainly within their power to write me a ticket and to call my mom and dad. But they did neither. Because of their mercy, I did not have to endure the well-deserved wrath of my mom and dad. Those officers did not give me what I deserved, they gave me mercy. Grace is defined as “approval, special favor or a temporary exemption”. When I think of grace, one particular instance comes to mind. During the first years of my marriage, my husband and I barely made enough money to get by. We were first time homeowners and new parents. One month we did not have the money to pay our mortgage. We got a call from the mortgage company checking in on us. When finding out our situation, the company offered to allow us to skip that month’s payment without any penalty.  We were thrilled. We had done nothing to deserve or earn that treatment from the mortgage company. They gave us grace – a gift we did nothing to earn.  

Although I am thankful for the mercy of the police officers and the grace of the mortgage company, nothing compares to the mercy and the grace God has given us through his son Jesus Christ. Without God’s mercy, I wouldn’t be writing this right now, and you wouldn’t be reading it. Every day we deserve God’s wrath, but instead we get His mercy. Not only does he withhold his wrath, but He showers us with His grace through Jesus Christ. Without God’s mercy and grace, there would be no Gospel and without the Gospel, we would have no hope. 

We are all born of sin: by our very nature, we are spiritually dead in sin and deserve God’s wrath, judgment and eternal punishment.  We have “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and the punishment for sin is death (Romans 6:23). After sin entered the world, God could have easily washed his hands of us and walked away. But instead, God chose to show us mercy.  He withholds judgment and gives us a way out. He gives us grace.

God’s grace was displayed on the cross when God gave His only Son, who was sinless, to be sin for us. Because of His grace, we can live as God created us to live, in relationship with Him for eternity. All we have to do is look to Jesus and believe in His name. Yes, Romans 6:23 makes clear that the punishment for our sin is death, but that’s not how it ends: it goes on to say “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) Because of God’s love for us, he sent Jesus, and with Jesus came God’s grace (John 1:17)  There is nothing that we can do to deserve or earn God’s grace.  ”For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves – it is the gift of God – not by works so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8) 

So while I am thankful for the earthly type of mercy and grace in the form of warnings instead of tickets, and deferred mortgage payments instead of late fees, I am so much more thankful for a God that loves me so much that while I was still a sinner, He died for me. Although I once rejected Him, he gave it all for me.  That is a grace, I cannot live without.