Today as I sat looking at the beautiful ocean waves come rolling in, I was reminded of a song we sang recently at a retreat, Waves Of Mercy by the David Crowder Band. "Waves of mercy, Waves of grace, Everywhere I look, I see your face. Your love has captured me." I should have written that song because that is exactly how I feel!
I thought about how His graces washes over me! And it is continual, never stopping! Just like the ocean waves! 1 John 1: 9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." And when He made that ocean, He probably thought how Jill might "get it" one day while she watched the waves crash, recede and come again!
Mercy is shown when a person does not get what he deserves, and grace is shown when a person gets what he does not deserve. Ephesians 2: 4-5, "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved." If I get pulled for speeding and do not get a ticket that is the officer showing me mercy. If the officer then gave me money for speeding - (something is wrong!) then he has shown me mercy and grace. I did not deserve that money. Jesus spares us from the punishment we deserve.
Mercy is when you don’t receive what you deserve: punishment. Titus 3: 5, "...he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit..."
But grace is when you receive what you don’t deserve: reward. Isaiah 53; 5, "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed."
Mercy and grace are shown in stories in Scripture. The prodigal son received mercy when his father accepted him back. The prodigal son received grace when his father threw him a party.
The thief on the cross received mercy when he experienced forgiveness. He received grace when Jesus promised Him he would be in paradise.
We received mercy when God chose us and saved us from the punishment of our sins. We received grace when we received eternal life. 1 John 5: 11, "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." We received grace when He made us His children. John 1; 12, "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." We received grace when He reserved an inheritance for us for eternity! 1 Peter 1: 4, "...and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you."
"Waves of mercy, Waves of grace, Everywhere I look, I see your face. Your love has captured me."
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