I have two teenage sons and one daughter. Boy-girl-boy. One boy is about to graduate and the other, my youngest son, is entering high school next year. They are all different, but boys and girls are very different in many ways. I never had to tell my daughter over and over again to brush her teeth, change her socks or take a shower. She likes smelling like a rose, while my boys seemed to not understand that their socks should not stand up on their own after you take them off. Water is necessary to clean dirt off you.

Their mother and I made rules and regulations and had to enforce them: “Brush your teeth, and don’t just run water over your toothbrush, actually brush. Clean your room. And don’t just throw stuff under your bed and in your closet. Put your smelly clothes in the laundry room.”

But you know what happened after some time? It was like overnight it seemed. My oldest WANTED to shower and asked for whitening toothpaste and mouthwash and deodorant. That was weird! Kept finding his clothes in the washer and dryer. That was weird. Wanted to “straighten up the living room.” OK, something is going on here! It’s amazing what the affections of the heart can do. A young lady came into the picture. And all of the sudden, the rules and regulations that seemed so hard and dumb and not needed became part of everyday life. Easily. No problem. And that, to me, is how we understand God’s great grace and law.

Romans tell us that our salvation is “apart form the law.” Meaning we are not saved by working to obey it. We have always been saved by grace through faith in God’s promise. And yet, understanding God’s great grace changes us. God is merciful by nature, and has chosen too extend mercy to people. But he does it his way according to his plan and it is a plan we would never have thought. So, Jesus comes and bears the suffering for all of our sins; and that allows God the Father to be both JUST and MERCIFUL. He makes a way for the penalty of sin to be paid. A JUST God requires JUSTICE. So, the sinless Son of God wraps his divinity in humanity and lives a perfect life and never sins, never breaks God commands and yet, WILLINGLY takes the punishment for you and me. Justice for sin is met and now we can see how, not only is God JUST, He is loving and kind and merciful,

And he has “elected” to give grace. And he only gives grace to those whom he wants. Hey, it is your choice to give pardon and forgiveness to those that wrong you. And those that wrong you cannot demand it. WE can never DEMAND grace and mercy from God. We have not earned it, we do not deserve it, but when you NEED forgiveness, as we ALL do, you can plead for mercy, and because the Bible tells us that God desires for all men to come to repentance, because the Bible tells us that Jesus died for the sins of the world, we can be assured that “WHOSOEVER will call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” God has elected to offer grace and when you respond, and receive it … by humbling yourself … by crying out for mercy and forgiveness and repent of your sins and forsake your sins, when you elect to do that, you, my friend become, God’s elect. We can be assured of it. We are assured that Jesus’ death paid for all our sins and his resurrection shows that God has conquered the penalty of sin; remember, the wages of sin is death, so what does Jesus do? He defeats death! I mean, seriously, the Gospel just gets clearer and clearer the more we study the Bible and get closer to Christ doesn’t it?

So, if you DO KNOW, God’s mercies and you DO KNOW, God’s great grace … then you can, and should, respond. And remember, responding does not add anything so what Jesus has already accomplished. Don’t ever think you add to your salvation. God has done it all. You just need to respond the proper way.

Romans 12:1-2: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

“IF you know the MERCIES of God, respond like this.” We are to live every minute of everyday for the glory of God. When you get up and when you have coffee, when you eat your breakfast, when you go to work, when you come home. Our lives are to be lived for God’s glory. Because of what he has done. Nothing in your life is separate from the WORSHIP of God. We are completely his and he is ours. Getting to know God takes time to read and think about his Word and talking to other believers about spiritual matters and being encouraged by others as you walk through good and bad times. God wants to speak to you. He has laid out his plan and purpose and made sure that we would have them in our hands. His character, what he likes, what he dislikes, what he expects, what displeases him, what honors him. It is all found in the pages of Scripture. God is ready to change your life, ready to renew your mind. The Holy Spirit will take the Scripture you put in and do a great work in your life as you understand God’s great grace and love him more each day.