Grace and Mercy

This is going to be one of those "stay with me, and we'll get to the point eventually" posts.

Last month at Generations of Faith (church function), we were focusing on the Lord's Prayer. The part that God was really speaking to me about was "Thy will be done." We took some time in the church to just meditate and pray, and spend time listening to God. My eyes fell on the nail piercing the feet of the Christ on the crucifix. And the words, "GRACE AND MERCY" were spoken to my spirit over and over. Because, truly, that is what the cross was about. And truly, it is God's will for us. It is His desire that we share that grace and mercy with all around us...anyone our lives touch.

Fast forward to yesterday's grocery trip. I had been up the night before with a sick son. I had been at work all day, picked up my other son from school, taught a piano lesson, and now it was time to hit Wal-mart. Then I would head home to fix supper. It had been a long day already! I was in the meat department, waiting as others made their selections. I have to admit I was not feeling very patient at all. One man in particular was taking quite a bit of time. Inside, I was thinking, "It's just meat, mister. Just pick out something and move along!" And then...

Then he turned, and I realized that this man was moving slowly for a very heart-wrenching reason: one leg was missing from the thigh down. Let me tell you, friends, it was all I could do to keep from totally breaking down right there in that meat aisle. And the words from a few weeks ago came slamming back into my heart: GRACE AND MERCY! I will also admit that I spent some extra time in that very spot, repenting of my own obvious lack of both grace and mercy.

But the truth is, I should have felt those things no matter if that man was 100% whole and healthy, or whether he was crawling on his hands and knees, or whatever!

Because when Christ was on the cross, His grace and mercy had no conditions and no boundaries. As a follower of Christ, mine shouldn't have conditions or boundaries, either.

I am so thankful for His forgiveness and unlimited grace and mercy!!!!!!!


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