Back at the norm today, Father. I’m grateful that all of my routes went smoothly and really the whole day went without a hitch! Some might call that good luck, but I give You the credit for every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of lights [the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens]… James 1:7a AMP
Acts 2:14-21 (<<click here to read the passage)
Throughout biblical history, humankind has always had a choice. In a way, it’s like a coin. We either choose heads or tails. But in this instance, there is absolutely no chance involved. We have been given the free will to decide for ourselves what we want – we either choose heads or we choose tails. We cannot pin the blame on anyone else for our poor choices and no one else can take the credit for our wise choices. The end result is entirely decided by us and only us.
Thinking along those lines got me pondering about grace and mercy. These two concepts are cornerstones of our faith. If God did not extend them to us, we would be hopelessly lost with no possibility of salvation.
I poked around and found an excellent article entitled, What Is the Difference Between Grace and Mercy?, on the Christianity.com website (click the title to read it).
Here is a super easy-to-understand layout of what the concepts of grace and mercy mean. (They paraphrased it from Willmington’s Guide to the Bible).
Mercy and grace…can be differentiated as follows: mercy is the act of withholding deserved punishment, while grace is the act of endowing unmerited favor. In His mercy, God does not give us punishment we deserve, (eternal death) namely hell; while in His grace, God gives us the gift we do not deserve, (eternal life) namely heaven.
Our eternal destiny is totally, entirely, wholly, completely, up to us.
Today’s passage follows these parameters. Peter here is quoting the Old Testament Prophet Joel (Joel 2:28-32). Acts 2:17-18 ties into what happens when we choose to accept God’s grace and mercy, whereas Acts 2:19-20 ties into choosing not to accept His grace and mercy.
Completeness in Him or separation from Him. It is our choice.
You would think it would be a no-brainer, but humanity often doesn’t see it that way. Salvation or condemnation, again the choice is ours. Yet the final reward for those who choose grace and mercy is found in verse 21,
But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. NLT
What will our choice be? Heads…or tails? And just as important in eternal impact, is the question, will you be a beacon of hope to help others make their choice, too?
Jan 3rd, 2022, Mon, 6:58 pm
