I come with your righteousness on, my humble offering to bring
The judgements of your holy law, with me can have nothing to do
My savior’s obedience and blood hide all my transgressions from you.
The work which your goodness began, the arm of your strength will complete
Your promise is ‘yes!’ and ‘amen!’ and never was forfeited yet
The future of things that are now, no power below or above
Can make you your purpose forego, or sever my soul from your love.
My name from the palms of your hands eternity will not erase
Impressed on your heart it remains in marks of indelible grace.
I till the end will endure until I bow down at your throne
Forever and always secure, a debtor to mercy alone.
Copyright 1998 Soveriegn Grace Praise (BMI) Soveriegn Grace Music
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That's a song written by the worship leader at my church, Bob Kaufflin. I'm sure I've mentioned him before. He's a real gift to our church. We sang this song in church a few weeks ago and I was reminded how much I love it. It came at a good time.
I was sick again a few weeks ago. It gets very discouraging having no idea what's triggering these episodes. I can very easily be tempted to self pity and anger. My husband can too. Especially when we can see no end in sight.
That's where this song has been very handy to me. "A debtor to mercy alone," it begins. I recently read a book character discribe it this way:
“My father lay dying, and until this medicine is administered, my husband does the same...and I am miles away from them both. ... I can often be tempted to believe that I don’t deserve to have had the life I have. I can start to believe that because my childhood had some dark times, I shouldn’t have to suffer during my adult years. I feel I’ve paid my due. I’m tempted to shake my fists at God and inform him that I deserve to keep my father and my husband – he has no right to take them from me, not after all that I’ve already lost. That’s what I start to think. ... But the Gospel tells me clearly that this is not the truth. What I deserve as a rebel against a good and holy God is death. That’s why Christ had to die in my place – he took the death that should have been dealt to me. And now that I’ve been reconciled to The Father, any trial that comes across my path is better than I deserve. I am indeed a debtor to His mercy. … No injustice is done to me if God takes my father. My father was a gift to me from God and he is God’s to take away. My husband was a gift from God, and is God's to take away. I do not deserve to keep them. What I deserve is death, and I’ve been spared. All other things are mercy.”
This character's father and husband of 3 days are both ill. It's fairly certain that her father will die soon, and unless her husband is treated quickly, he will die as well. When she gave this monologue she was making a mad dash to a different part of the country to retrieve the medicine that would cure her husband. That's a tough hand to have been dealt. But her perspective is helpful. I could say the same things about my health that she is saying about her loved ones. My health is a gift from God, and it's his to take away. No injustice is done to me if he chooses to take my health. I don't deserve to be healthy. What I deserve is punishment for my sins - death and eternity in hell, separated from God. But through Christ's death I've been spared this - and all other circumstances that cross my path, even if they're rigorous trials, are mercy, because they are far less than I deserve. I am a debtor to mercy - and I'd better remember it, because if I let my current, short-term circumstances cloud my vision I will grow bitter very quickly.
I heard a comical song by a christian comedian named Mark Lowry when I was a child. Part of the chorus went like this:
No matter where you are tonight you're doing pretty well
Because it sure beats hell.
No dicing words there. No matter what circumstances fall in our laps, if we have accepted Christ's death on our behalf and him as our savior, we're doing alot better than we would be alternatively. Without accepting Jesus, things will only get worse and stay worse. With accepting him, we can know that our sufferings are temporary and full, complete relief is coming. That's the mercy I'm endebted to.
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." --Ephesians 2:4-7
This whole mercy thing confusing? See here for a better explaination.
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