Think on These Things: God’s Grace

The grace of God is defined universally as the unmerited favor of God to mankind. But the fact is that God’s grace is even more than unmerited favor. This is why. Suppose a tramp, a homeless person, knocked on your door and begged you for food and you gave him some. That would be kind of you. But suppose you discover that that person robbed you, stole from you, and you still give him food. That would be an example of grace. So God’s grace is not simply unmerited favor; it is favor shown despite positive demerit in the one receiving it.

God’s grace, His mercy, and His love form a trilogy of three of His attributes. Here is a good way to remember these three and how they relate to each other. Imagine looking at a triangle. At the top point is love, on the left at the bottom is mercy and on the right is grace. From God’s love, mercy and grace flow. His mercy has to do with His withholding of deserved judgment. God’s grace, on the other hand, extends undeserved favor toward those who really deserve His judgment.

Because God is love, He bestowed His mercy and grace at Calvary. We who have all sinned and continue to sin can be forgiven and made recipients of His wonderful and marvelous grace in salvation.

Annie Johnson Flint described God’s grace beautifully: It “has no measure; for out of His infinite riches in Jesus He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.”