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Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Do I really know what Grace and Mercy mean?


It happened on a Saturday morning.  I was trying to make it to my Saturday abs class, and I was running a little late.  At the bottom of the hill, I could see the police car peeking at me by the corner, patiently waiting for me to go by.  I said a little prayer, for the police officer not to see me, but he did, and I found myself pulled over on the corner of Hudson and 12th as my neighbors went by me on their way to the same class.

So yes, I was speeding.  Yes, I broke the law.  And I could go into a million reasons as to why it shouldn't have happened that way, but it did, I got a speeding ticket, and that was that.

And this reminded me of a sermon pastor John gave a long time ago.

Okay, let's back up a bit.  The words Grace, Mercy, Truth, Discipline, Justification, Sanctification, Righteousness, and Faith have been tumbling around in my head a lot lately.  And over the years, I've asked myself...What do these words really mean?  And how exactly do they apply to my life?  And if they meant so much to Jesus, how can I live these words out in my day-to-day situations?

So let's go back to my speeding ticket.  We can all agree that I broke the law by speeding.  That I disobeyed the law.  And the law punished me by giving me a ticket.  I got what I deserved.

But WHAT IF the law had decided to give me a warning instead?  In this case, even though I'd broken the law, I would have received MERCY, because I didn't receive the punishment I deserved.

And WHAT IF my neighbor Kara, who had been driving behind me, had decided to stop, pull the police officer aside, and said:
"Look, I know CC was speeding.  I know she disobeyed the law.  And I know that a speeding ticket needs to be issued to right this wrong.  Let me, Kara, take that ticket.  Write it up in my, Kara's, name.  Let me pay that ticket, instead of CC, and right her wrong."
In this case, I would have received GRACE from Kara.  Getting something good, for which I'd done absolutely nothing to deserve it.

See, MERCY says she won't give us the punishment we deserve.  When Cooper is acting up, and says mean things to Isabella, or hits her just because he feels like it, when she doesn't react, doesn't hit back, doesn't yell at him...she's showing him mercy.  Even though he may deserve her wrath at times, she withholds it and shows him mercy.

GRACE goes one step further.  When Cooper acts up, and not only does Isabella withhold her wrath, but instead kneels down, tenderly hugs him, and tells him she loves him anyway, and gives him her last Scratch cupcake, she's giving him the gift of GRACE.  Because in that moment, he may not deserve any of those good things, but she gives them to him anyway.

Pictures of GRACE:
When a husband commits adultery, and comes to his wife, and she knows in her heart that they'll be able to work things out, and forgives him for his wrong.  GRACE.

When I yell at my husband for something petty because I'm stressed out about life, and he refuses to react, but lets me be, and then proceeds to make the bed amidst my crankiness.  GRACE.

When I hurt a friend unintentionally, but still, I hurt her, and she forgives me, and makes sure I know it by continuing to intentionally live life with me.  GRACE.

When a young friend is living a loose, questionable life, and instead of judging her, I continue to be there for her.  GRACE.

When my friends accept me for who I am, all my mistakes, and choose to ignore all the little things that bug them about me because they love me despite my flaws.  GRACE.

"While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8) GRACE.

See, as I've said in previous posts, we are all sinners.  We are broken, flawed, and ugly on the inside.  We disobey, put ourselves and our interests above others, and try to make ourselves look better in order to be accepted by others.  We lie when we don't want to lie, we gossip when we know we shouldn't, we get angry and irritated about silly little things that aren't really all that important.  We put our present wants and earthly desires before those things that will grant us eternal reward.  We are HUMAN.  Flawed.  Broken.  HUMAN.

And in that flawed, human state...in our sinful state, God still loved us so much that He gave his only son to die in our place.  Jesus was the perfect sacrifice.  His blood covered our sins, no matter how badly we had messed up.  Instead of giving us what we deserve, which is an eternity in hell, God gave us the gift of GRACE, giving us a way out of hell, even though we so deserve it.

And how does GRACE apply in my life today?  When I start getting irritated, frustrated, angry, discontent, self-righteous, egotistical, or pride-filled; when I want to state my rights, and win an argument; when I think things are going unfairly for myself, my family, or my friends, and I want to lash out at the ones hurting them...

I remember God's gift of GRACE to me.  When I feel hurt, irritated, frustrated, or angry at someone, I think of Jesus as he was beaten and bruised.  He said "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."  (Luke 23:34).

If Jesus could endure all of that, and still extend his executors grace, I know I should work really hard at extending grace to others, and myself (don't we all beat ourselves up constantly?) on a daily basis.

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