Mercy, Grace and Love

Pastor Carol Grace ♦ October 7, 2024 ♦ Leave a comment

(NRSV) Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us 5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— 9 not the result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

When I think of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I do not think of just one quality or attribute. But three things immediately come to mind—His mercy, His grace, and His love.  

I see mercy, grace and love as the legs on a three-legged stool. Without either of these supports the stool could not stand. Likewise, without either of these qualities God would not function as God.  

When God sees our sin, yet spares us from the penalty of sin, that is mercy. Mercy is generally paired with power, for it only means something if one has the power to grant forgiveness. I often find myself singing the old hymn “At Calvary” by William Newell:

1. Years I spent in vanity and pride, Caring not my Lord was crucified, Knowing not it was for me He died On Calvary.

o Refrain:

Mercy there was great, and grace was free;

Pardon there was multiplied to me; There my burdened soul found liberty At Calvary.

• By God’s Word at last my sin I learned; Then I trembled at the law I’d spurned, Till my guilty soul imploring turned To Calvary.

Verse 2 of this song reveals such an important truth—we learn of our sin by reading God’s Holy Word. We also hear of our sin from the pulpit, and the Holy Spirit impresses upon us our need for repentance, at which point we turn to a holy God for mercy. 

Grace, which we do not deserve and cannot earn, offers us that most blessed gift of salvation, and both Grace and mercy is brought to us by the love of God. As much as I love the Word, I love the old hymns of the church. Both are sources of such comfort. 

The Love of God by Frederick Lehman.  

O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure— the saints’ and angels’ song.

 

May we each meet Jesus at the foot of the Cross, accepting His mercy, grace and love which is abundant and free.  

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.