There was once a family who experienced the most awful tragedy. A couple's son, Matthew, was involved in a fight after school with another teenage boy named Marcus. The fight turned into a blood bath when Marcus pulled a knife out and stabbed Matthew to death. He was 17. He was dead. Marcus, Matthew's murderer, an orphaned 19 year old gangster, was charged and found guilty.
Many have tried to explain the difference between mercy and grace. You can have mercy without grace, but you cannot have grace without mercy. Grace goes further than mercy ever will. If Matthew's parents decided to have mercy on their son's murderer, they would do three things. They would truly forgive him, they would drop all charges and they would allow him to go free. As a dad, I'm not even sure I could do that. I don't know if I could minister mercy to my son's murderer, let alone grace.
However, Matthew's parents made a decision to administer grace to Marcus. They made the decision to forgive him, to drop all the charges and for him to be free to go. They then adopted him as their son, gave him all of Matthew's belongings, all of Matthew's privileges, all of Matthew's possessions and treated him as their beloved son till the day they died.
They left Marcus the inheritance that would have gone to Matthew. From the day they decided to show grace to their son's murderer, to them, Marcus become their son and treated him and more importantly, they loved him as their only son. They decided to show him the measure of their goodness and to not treat him as his sin deserved. His actions demanded justice, except Marcus was met by the saving grace of a couple who decided to display their goodness towards him. For the rest of their days he was their son. And for the rest of his days he had something he'd never had before: loving parents who gave him the world!
As I said, mercy would be almost impossible for me to give to someone who killed my boy. To show them grace would be out of the question. But the good news of the gospel, that is written about in the New Testament and is the foundation of the New Covenant that Jesus introduced, is that God himself has displayed towards us the immense riches of His grace. The perfect Father has forgiven us, adopted us, loved us with the same love that Jesus has and has left us an inheritance. He has given us a salvation is based on the finished work of His Son. He has given us peace with himself as a gift to all who would believe. He has saved us not because we are good, but because He is grace personified. You see, the truth is: Matthew's parents had tons of grace. Jesus is Grace.
Hey Ross,
ReplyDeleteWhere did this happen? Usually, in a case of murder such as this, there are no charges to be dropped without permission from the law enforcement agency.
Even if Matthew's parents dropped any charge of wrong doing, the law enforcement agency would still prosecute.
Certainly it may not be an act of grace, but it is an act of enforcement of the law. Secular distinction between law and religion is often required, regardless of the grace and tolerance of those involved.
You seem to like bringing up topics that would constitute hours of philosophy discussions ;)
Hey there,
ReplyDeleteThe story was a fictional one. My purpose in this blog was to share biblical truth in a way that's easy to understand and comprehend the greatness of the mercy and grace that God pours on those that believe Him.
I really really REALLY appreciate your interaction and engaging. Much appreciated.