Do You Understand Grace, Mercy and Faith?

Three words that everyone should put on their "Bucket List".......Grace, Mercy and Faith... I pray that we experience ALL of the wonders of these three words.  These were the words that I placed on my Facebook status today.  After typing these words, I truly wondered if many people got my message.  This year has been a very educational year for me.  I have become wiser, stronger, more patient and overall a nicer person.  I attribute my changes to my fufilling my desires to undestand the words of God for myself.  Yes, I  began to read and study the bible with more deliberation.  However, what I found profounding were three simple words that I have heard all of my life....Grace.....Mercy......and Faith.  Here is why.  Let's start with Grace and Mercy.   Grace is defined as unmerited divine assistance given to a human for their regeneration or santification.  Mercy is defined as compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender.  So now you may be going where's the big bang out of those two definitions...  Well with that being the case, let me bring in an authority a little better than my Meriam Webster definitions. Pastor N. Jerome McClain, Sr. summed it up as follows: Justice, Mercy and Grace......Getting, Not Getting, and Getting Not Getting.  God is Just, Merciful and Gracious.  In the Justice of God, He took our place.  In the Mercy of God, we are not punished.  In the Grace of God, He gives us eternal life.  This brings us to the words Grace and Mercy; both are directly related to unmerited favor.  It is from this power of the Savior that we have life, justification and ability.  Justice is getting what we deserve.  Mercy is NOT getting what we deserve.  Grace is GETTING WHAT we DO NOT deserve.  WOW!  I hope you got it now! If not, Pastor McClain has an anology for you.  Let us suppose you have a bicycle and I want it.  One night I sneak over to your house and steal it.  You catch me and I go to jail. Jail would be where I PAY for my crime of breaking the law.  The penalty is met and that is justice.  I get what I deserve.   Change the scenario a little, I sneak over to your house and steal your bike.  You catch me. You do not send me to jail.  Instead, you tell me to forget about it.  The penalty is not met. This is Mercy! I did not get what I deserved.  Now one more change.  I sneak over to your house and steal your bike.  You catch me.  You do not send me to jail.  In fact, you give me the bike plus one hundred dollars.  This is Grace!  The penalty is met by you paying the damages and I was given what I did not deserve (the bike and money).  So now how about the words GRACE AND MERCY?  We have not even discussed FAITH.  I'll leave the word Faith for my next blog.  You have enough for now. Remember to give grace and mercy during your life.  You certainly have gotten them.