Grace and Mercy

https://odb.org/MY/2022/01/23/this-is-grace

We know that it is by grace that we are saved, not our good works although as a child of God, we are made for good works and thus will inevitably do good works for God. Grace is undeserved forgiveness and love. We deserve to die for our sins but God chose to forgive us and gave us eternal life instead through Christ. It’s like we have been convicted of a crime and was pardoned. Up to there it is mercy but instead of only being pardoned, we are also given a new lease of life, like we are given a piece of land in another place to start a new life. Now that’s grace. God gave us something new, eternal and meaningful life instead of endless misery and suffering in hell that we deserve because of our sins. The blind beggar was not only forgiven his sins (eternal life) but was also healed of his blindness (meaningful life).

The question this morning is that while it is well and good for us that God has shown us grace and mercy, are we showing grace and mercy to others? The Chinese has a saying, don’t kill him off, give him a new road to walk on. Actually what that really means is to let him find his opportunity again in life in another way. That is why when people do wrong at work, employers seldom make it into a police case. The employee will be terminated but usually to the extent that he may get another chance somewhere else. Or he may be forgiven and given another chance without losing his job. As we are not God, it will probably be tough for us to go the extra mile to find an errant employee who had committed wrong another job somewhere else. That’s the true extent of grace but it is unnatural and we will perhaps be overdoing it. I think for us to be gracious is really to be forgiving and to give others another opportunity, another chance. If it’s not a disciplinary issue but just a clash of working styles or work cultures, then perhaps we could take the additional step to help him or her find another place that he or she will fit in better. That’s the essence of grace and mercy. We are quick to forgive, to support and slow to punish and condemn. Like God is able to turn us around by showing us grace and mercy, we will likewise be able to turn those around us by showing grace and mercy. Thus grace and mercy are not just values we practice only because God had shown us grace and mercy but these are values we adhere to because there are also positive consequences. Often the values we are instilled through Christ, by being Christ-like, like having love and compassion, being generous, being kind are not just moral standards that we need to adhere to as Christians. It’s not a compliance regime. God is actually teaching us to be better persons, persons that we ought to be as creations made in His image but all these values have good and positive consequences and vibes. When we treat people better, people will become better people and that can only be good in whatever context, whether it’s in our church, our family, our cell group, our company or our department. Treating people with grace and mercy is always good!