Mercy wins--because we suck.

“But I…”

Easily the 2 most powerful words in the Scriptures; for what does it convey except for the gospel. It is interwoven betwixt these words themselves—saving grace, mercy, the whole lot of Christ’s magnificent blessings to us. Preceding these words are the lecherous list of our debaucheries, our collapses, the slow decay of our fallen souls—but O, glorious patience, that post ceding this black and rotting ditch of our immorality and subsequent lack of morality, are the dearest, precious words of grace taught us at the earliest of ages. Love wins. Or does it? Rob Bell a renowned pastor wrote a book with this title: Love Wins. Millions were outraged at his light portrayal of hell, and his inferences to universal election, but many were caught in this trap. This trap of the prosperity gospel. The forgiveness cop-out. The no worries I’m alright trap, the God wouldn’t send me to hell trap. Ensnared, we drool over the words after “but I”—we are obsessed with grace and inflate it infinitely much, as we become blinder and blinder to the realities of our sin. Sin is an infection, a virus, a contagion; it is in and through us and contaminates all of our perceptions, often with the justification that it is not a plague. Don’t fool yourself. Sit in silence for 2 minutes, nah one, I don’t have that much faith in you. Think. Ponder. Wander. 60 seconds. I’ll join you. What did you think about? Anxieties, Lusts, Anger, Gossip, Hate, Convictions, Guilt? Are you feeling dirty? Good. Cause you are. Your filthy, disgusting, revolting—a leper. As am I. What do you suppose I was thinking? Hint: you might want to read the list above. But perhaps now, we have found a mite enough of understanding to our present stead, that we may even begin to approach the grace after the “but I”. Grace and mercy don’t exist without sin, and they have no meaning without justice. If you know the cost of your freedom, you would be truly free—free to live the life you are capable, the life you’ve been chosen to live, the life you ought. Good Luck fellow sinners. Live well!