{Be sure to read prior post(s) for context…}
Has happened to you? Or I am the only one who settled for a falsehood that God's grace is a nice thought, but to shallow and weak to really accomplish anything transformative? Especially when we feel in the dark about an area of our lives. Especially when we are ashamed or embarrassed about falling for the two millionth time. I could receive grace when I was doing well, I could understand why God would extend it, but in the midst of bondage, strongholds, and call it for what it is – sin?
And yet we read:
"Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so, grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 5:20-21
Yes, our sin and our struggles are much. As pastor and author Max Lucado writes:
“When it came to sin, Jesus never did. We, on the other hand, have never stopped. We are dead in trespasses and sins (Eph.2:1 Grace, pg.33)”
What makes grace so amazing? Lord Jesus and the lavishness His free, unrelenting gift of pardon, kindness, and acceptance. No matter our failing, His grace is greater still. This is what His word teaches and this is what He exemplified in His earthly ministry. We will elaborate on this in a future chapter, but what a glimmer of hope it brings! Yes indeed. Grace in the dark.
Now, let’s meet mercy.
The Old Testament Hebrew word chesed and the Greek New Testament word, eleos – both used for mercy are similarly defined and translated in our English Bibles as kindness, mercy, lovingkindness, unfailing love, tenderness, and faithfulness.
Mercy is similar to grace but with the addition of pity, forgiveness, and clemency for wrongdoing. New Testament mercy is often used in reference to God’s pity and compassion for sinful man bringing into action His forgiveness to redeem us not only from the consequence of sin – death – but from the misery of sin itself by divine intervention.
I don’t know about you, but I be needing a whole lot of divine intervention!
The trouble is we want God to throw some pixie-dust our way or wave a magic wand. Presto-chango! We are free from our life’s encumbrances that hold us back from so much of the abundant life He promised Heb 12:1, John 10:10. However, as we will learn in the next chapter, we are complex beings and the Holy Spirit is after a clean and thorough work.
God is after a restored intimate relationship with us as we utterly depend upon Him as He extricates us from the depravity of our own souls and from the evil of the world we live in - now ruled by the devil - until Christ’s return 1 John 5:19. His deliverance usually does come in a moment’s time Luke 4: 41– but the walking out in freedom is a struggle all too real Matt 12:43-45 and one where nothing less than an intimate relationship with the Lord of Grace will suffice 2 Tim 1:12.
Yes, God’s grace and mercy are relentlessly pursuing all the days of our lives Psalm 23:6, yet like any gift of any type, we can refuse to receive them.
{Ohhhh I love your comments and suggestions! Please remember this is a rough first draft…just trying to keep writing!}