"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus," (Ephesians 2:4-6; NKJV)
God's grace is often defined in many ways. Undeserved favor works, however, the weight of His grace can be found in that "even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ." The demonstration of His grace is defined in His love. To think that He was willing, and did, die for us, even knowing that we were in the midst of our sins, going our own way, before we were even saved, goes against our mode of thinking. We are so used to rewarding those who have earned it and punishing those who deserve it.
It is commonly said that life is not fair. I have to agree with this statement on account that in Christ, God has given me more than I deserve. Imagine for a moment if life was really fair. If we are honest with ourselves, especially those of us who believe, this should cause us to breathe a sigh of relief. For if we really received in proportion to our lives what we really deserved, life would be a lot more miserable than it may currently be. Enter mercy. His mercy is married to His grace. The grace we receive is an outpouring of His mercy. It is because of this mercy that we are seated (currently) with Him in heavenly places. His mercy triumphs over judgement (James 2:3).
If we are supposed to be like Him, what does this mean in this context. It means to show forgiveness not only to those who have asked for it, but to others, even if and when all they really deserve is our judgement. When we are merciful and graceful towards the "undeserving" we are demonstrating His love and thus being like Him. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Dying to ourselves may mean having a willingness to do it for the benefit of someone who does not deserve it. To show His love for others means to demonstrate grace married with mercy.
Thanks for your thoughts; hope this helps,
Chuck
God's grace is often defined in many ways. Undeserved favor works, however, the weight of His grace can be found in that "even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ." The demonstration of His grace is defined in His love. To think that He was willing, and did, die for us, even knowing that we were in the midst of our sins, going our own way, before we were even saved, goes against our mode of thinking. We are so used to rewarding those who have earned it and punishing those who deserve it.
It is commonly said that life is not fair. I have to agree with this statement on account that in Christ, God has given me more than I deserve. Imagine for a moment if life was really fair. If we are honest with ourselves, especially those of us who believe, this should cause us to breathe a sigh of relief. For if we really received in proportion to our lives what we really deserved, life would be a lot more miserable than it may currently be. Enter mercy. His mercy is married to His grace. The grace we receive is an outpouring of His mercy. It is because of this mercy that we are seated (currently) with Him in heavenly places. His mercy triumphs over judgement (James 2:3).
If we are supposed to be like Him, what does this mean in this context. It means to show forgiveness not only to those who have asked for it, but to others, even if and when all they really deserve is our judgement. When we are merciful and graceful towards the "undeserving" we are demonstrating His love and thus being like Him. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Dying to ourselves may mean having a willingness to do it for the benefit of someone who does not deserve it. To show His love for others means to demonstrate grace married with mercy.
Thanks for your thoughts; hope this helps,
Chuck
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