Throne of Grace
We’ve all messed up.
We’ve all done things, seen things, and said things we regret. We’ve all sinned—ignoring God’s commands and rebelling against His ways. And we know it, too. This is because God gave us the ability to discern right from wrong. His Word reveals His righteousness and magnifies our lack and need for Him.
The bad news is our sin separates us from a holy God.
But the good news is Jesus has already bridged the gap.
Our Savior, Jesus Christ, lived the perfect life we couldn’t and died the brutal death we should’ve—becoming the final and ultimate sacrifice. He’s paid our debt, cleared our names, and defeated death itself by rising back to life. And now, as the author of Hebrews suggests, we have an open invitation into His presence…
Undeserved Mercies
When someone hurts you or, worse, hurts somebody that you love, revenge can seem appealing. After all…
They were mean.
They were selfish.
They talked behind your back.
They broke a vital promise.
They lied about you.
They criticized you.
They ignored you.
They did the unthinkable.
They walked away.
They deserve to be punished, right? To feel some of that same pain? They deserve a consequence that will not only help them learn, but will be just as severe as the inflicted wounds.
And yet—because God sees things differently, both His standards and tactics can be surprising. And that’s why the apostle Paul, writing to the believers in Thessaloniki, said:
“See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.”
1 Thessalonians 5:15 NLT
Paul’s words sound a lot like Jesus’ words—to love your neighbor as yourself; to do to others what you’d like them to do to you. (See: Matthew 22:38-40)
God’s ways ...