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Post by charlene on Apr 21, 2008 12:24:27 GMT -5
THE WORD "GRACE" HAS ALWAYS BEEN HARD FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND. I THINK I FINALLY GET IT. AFTER HEARING THIS EXPLANATION:
JUDGMENT: YOU GET CAUGHT SPEEDING DOWN THE HIGHWAY. PULLED OVER BY A POLICEMAN. HE SAY'S "YOU WERE SPEEDING, I AM GOING TO GIVE YOU A TICKET FOR $100.00
MERCY: YOU GET CAUGHT SPEEDING DOWN THE HIGHWAY, PULLED OVER BY A POLICEMAN. HE SAYS "YOU WERE SPEEDING, I AM GOING TO GIVE YOU A TICKET FOR ONLY $25.OO, AS I KNOW THAT YOU ARE REALLY SORRY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE"
GRACE: YOU GET CAUGHT SPEEDING DOWN THE HIGHWAY, PULLED OVER BY A POLICEMAN . HE SAYS "YOU WERE SPEEDING, HOWEVER, I WANT YOU TO TAKE THIS CARD TO THE LITTLE RESTAURANT DOWN THE ROAD AND THEY WILL SERVE YOU A CUP OF COFFEE"
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
CHARLEE
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Post by IllinoisGal on Apr 30, 2008 5:58:10 GMT -5
It sounds like in your explanation mercy is not fair against others because they got less of a punishment than you.
In this exlantion it Sounds like grace means you have to give something to get something.
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Post by wanttobewithGod on Apr 30, 2008 21:50:50 GMT -5
IMO, in this particular example...mercy and grace could be used interchangably. For example, the police officer says....you WERE speeding, but I'm going to let you go this time. Just make sure you slow down. To me, those are both examples of mercy AND grace. M.
You don't *have* to be sorry in order for someone to show you mercy....and you don't have to do anything to receive grace. So, I agree with IL on this one. M.
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Post by tulip2 on May 6, 2008 7:58:47 GMT -5
does anyone know the right thing to do in the situation? is anyone here a child psychologist? i just was curious as to what different folks would do in this situation? should the boy be punished? how? anything you write about judgment, mercy, or grace i would consider a plus. Tough one Ran. The one who will pay the penalty is not the 7 year old chubby kid but his mom who wants to strangle him ;D Guess there's some justice in that, the kid's not at the age where he's legally responsible so the judgment must be on his parent or guardian. Not much in the way of opportunities for mercy or grace in the circumstances. Not that I can see anyway. Maybe the kid's being shown mercy because he's not getting what he deserves. But not out of love but the law is protecting him. So it's mercy to a 7 year old on account of his tender age. The cops can't punish him, and his mom can't do what she feels like doing (strangling him) 'cos she's in fear of the law. Ha, he's getting mercy alright! Grace (getting what we don't deserve) would be if someone came along and told the kid & his mom that they would pay the damages out of kindness of their heart. The mom would be pretty happy with that  |
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Post by Brick on May 12, 2008 14:15:15 GMT -5
Lemme see if I can get this out the way that I heard it:
Justice is getting what you deserve. The punishment must fit the crime.
Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Not punished for your crimes.
Grace is getting what you don't deserve. Like a gift.
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cat
Junior Member
Posts: 182
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Post by cat on May 12, 2008 17:43:21 GMT -5
justice-the giving to another what is due him--be it because of a crime committed by the person or against the person.
mercy(Devinne)-the attribute of God extending compassion to those in need.
mercy(secular)-compassion shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power.
grace-the supernatural gift from God to assist persons in achieving eternal salvation. An undeserved gift, which individuals have no right or claim, but which comes simply from the benevolent nature of God.
Or thats how its been shown to me. I too, had a hard time understanding grace for a very long time.
I think that we need to be able to accept grace to truly feel it working in our lives.
Christ's Blessings
cat
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Post by tulip2 on May 12, 2008 19:09:11 GMT -5
Thats pretty good too, but what would you do in the case of the little boy that stole the SUV? What response to the boy would include mercy, grace, and judgment? Ran, just my understanding, but... In this world, if you've done the crime then you either get justice (just judgment) or mercy. You get punished or you get let off (because the judge is having a good day, feels kindly towards you, whatever reason who knows why). But you can't get both (justice and mercy) at the same time. The little kid has done the crime so he's gotta get one or the other. Which is where it gets pretty amazing with God. In His economy, He has arranged it so that at the cross, justice and mercy come together. Christ takes the rap for every one of our sins. God who is perfectly just is satisfied, He must act justly because that's part of His divine character. So He can't just wink and show us mercy without Christ takes the rap on the cross. Because Christ has done that, God must show us mercy because He will always be true to His Son and the value of Christ's sacrifice for us. Here's the verse I like: 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." Simply put, we are forgiven when we confess our sins, not primarily because God is merciful (which He is), but rather because He is "faithful (to Christ) and just". In other words, justice demands that we be forgiven. Pretty amazing! Make any sense? |
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Post by thestandard on May 13, 2008 2:05:08 GMT -5
here we go....so...whats the real problem here? There are alot of ways to be punished. Have you ever done anything very serious as an adult? What happened to you? Would you expect the same if you were a child?
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Post by wanttobewithGod on May 13, 2008 23:00:16 GMT -5
i just see this brat not getting any punishment, and only grandma cares about him, and everyone else is in fear. IMO. Believe you me, let the little hoodlum come to MY house. I. don't. THINK. so.  But seriously. I don't care how tall that kid gets. He's still a kid, and unless he's got a gun or a knife in his hand, he better fear ME if I was his mama!  M. and on a more serious note too....I feel really bad for him. I wonder what his childhood must have been like even THUS far to have made him this way. I'm not subscribing to Freudian theories or anything here.....let's not blame it all on his childhood...but for a kid so young to be doing this sort of thing...it obviously has *something* to do with his childhood, because he's not even close to adulthood yet. JMO. M. |
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Post by Child of God on May 22, 2008 6:14:30 GMT -5
The Strong's concordance definition for grace is: the influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude.
This grace comes as a gift from heaven. The Strong's indicates that this word is actually comes from a primary verb which means to be full of "cheer". So... the influence upon the heart in a cheerful person is a gift from heaven because there is nothing we as a human upon this earth can do to merit or favor the attention of God here in our life except repent from our own way and turn toward God, doing all things as unto God.
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