Mercy and Grace

by Keith Gardner

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. -1 Corinthians 11: 23-26 (NIV)

There is a mercy that is available to each one of us. We receive it with great ease; almost unnoticed. It is wrapped in the gift of forgiveness. When I am drawn to God for the first time, and I come to him asking him to forgive me, and he does; releasing me from the penalty of my sins and adopts me into his spiritual family; that is mercy. Mercy is where we do not get what we deserve. Jesus’s death on the cross paid the price for my sins; that debt payment was God’s mercy in action. The mercy is not applied until the free gift of forgiveness is received (Romans 5).

If mercy is where we do not get what we deserve, then grace is where we get what we do not deserve. As believers, we are constantly being filled with the grace of God. When I come to God, recognizing that I am unholy and unworthy to stand before his holiness yet he invites me into his presence; that is grace. I am made the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21). Being filled with God’s righteousness is a gift undeserved. Righteousness is grace in action.

Mercy and grace were God’s gifts to his created likeness. We were created in his image; designed to his specification for the purpose of relationship. Adam’s failure became our failure. Jesus’s debt payment became our success. Accepting Jesus’s sacrifice as God’s son releases mercy into our lives. The remembering act of breaking bread is a celebration of recognizing mercy.

Jesus’s sacrifice brought us more that just forgiveness, it also brought us healing (1 Peter 2:24). It is easy to get one sided. Redeeming man is a big deal. Reconciling man back to God was a primary purpose if Jesus’s mission. But it was not a singular intention. Jesus also came to set us free and to heal us (Luke 4:18-19). The affects of sin in the world, on our bodies and in our spirits would need redeeming too. God’s desire is that we be made whole spiritually and physically. These continual acts of healings; the repairing of my body, the bandaging up of my heart, and the restoring of my spirit were all part of God’s original plan (Isa 53:4-5). When we drink the cup at the table of the Lord we are celebrating grace.

Dear Lord, thank you for poring into my life your mercy and grace. I am constantly feeling the effects of going from glory to glory; being transformed into your likeness. It is never easy, often painful, but I revel in the results. Thank you for showing me your endless love. Thank you for allowing me to experience your kindness in a way that revives my spirit and energies my soul; creating a drive in me for even more of that transformation. In Jesus’s name, Amen