Grace and Mercy

Grace and Mercy. No I am not talking about my long lost ancestors of the Mayflower.The key to forgiveness is God's grace and mercy. In simple terms I learned as a youth grace is defined as receiving something that we do not deserve where mercy is not receiving something we really do deserve. What do you really truly deserve? Be honest. I asked myself that and I was uncomfortable to say the least, because what we deserve is death. WE deserve the death that Jesus took in place of us on the cross. That should have been US up there. All the evil our lives were once built on should have been the nails that bound us to the ungodliness that was our original inheritance. Our selfish natures once ruled by the flesh should have been our crown of thorns. 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." Ephesians 2:4-5. He graciously gifted restoration and redemption purchased by the precious blood that flowed from his own body. What do you do with such a gift? How do you use it? We can never hope to be worthy of such a gesture, but to glorify the one who breathed his very breath, and then later his Spirit, into us- we can impart grace and mercy unto others as his example.