Grace and Mercy!

In rural Virginia, there are long winding roads that seemingly never end. Ones, where if you are lucky enough to get caught behind a lumber truck you just have to wait; and enjoy the scenery while going 25 miles per hour until you are able (and brave enough) to pass! Well, on one occasion while driving down a long Virginia rural road, I witnessed a sight; a sight that I’ve no doubt seen many times before but never took the time to really “see”. Sometimes God can open your eyes to a truth, a very simple truth that previously you have been going too fast to observe. Well, on this particular day while driving with my mind on nothing and nothing on my mind … in particular, I saw this sight: A turtle in the middle of the road. This sight, again, I’ve witnessed before but for some reason my mind began to ponder it. As I swerved so as not to hit the turtle (turtle soup is good I hearJ ) I began to consider one word - “Mercy” … Mercy. Then it hit me! I had mercy on that turtle! So what?! Well I began to think that in the same way I had mercy on that turtle, God has had mercy on me; and every one of us! When you consider that Mr. Turtle (although unbeknownst to him) really had no business being in the middle of the road … in the danger zone! So yes, I had mercy on him as God has on us! Then I began to consider another word – “Grace” … Grace. If that was mercy, what is grace? Why am I entertaining grace? Well, considering that the turtle was still in the middle of the road, (other cars were having mercy as well) … I came to a conclusion that grace then is me pulling over to the side of the road; getting out of my car; walking to the middle of the road; bending down; picking up the turtle; carrying it to the other side of the road where he was heading; and letting it go in safety! Grace! Let me explain. Mercy has been explained by many to mean to not get what we deserve. And grace means to have unmerited favor i.e. to give us what we don’t deserve! Think about it … how many times in your life have you been “caught out there” … jammed up in one of those “situations”! You needed some help … or you would be “done”! Then somehow you were rescued, helped, saved, freed, or exonerated! How did that happen? Someone … God had mercy and grace on you! One of the meanings of favour (grace) in the Old Testament Hebrew is to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior; to bestow.

(Ps 102:13) Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.

Certainly it was God’s kindness (Mercy) and favor (Grace) that saved us from ourselves and helped us to get to a point of safety! As I drove away that day, all I could muster to say was Thank you God for your grace and mercy … on a turtle like me!

You’ve been CLUEd!