Grace and Mercy Are Undeserved

Grace and mercy are undeserved, unanticipated offerings of compassion.

As my husband and I traveled from Kansas City to Columbus, Ohio, we stopped in St Louis to see some friends. When the winter sky began spewing snow, our friends urged us to stay the night. But the forecast didn’t seem too bad, so we decided to go on. We estimated arrival in Ohio around midnight. We agreed to let our friends know when we were there.

As we drove, the snow continued, and worsened, but we pressed on. At midnight we were only as far as Indiana. We determined it was too risky to go further and decided to stop. The gravity of our situation became clear when the man at the motel desk laughed at us. He assured us we would not find a vacancy for at least 75 miles. We let our friends know where we were, and that we would probably be sleeping in our car.

But our St. Louis friends alerted other friends, who happened to live near where we were. The Indiana family invited us into their home. They welcomed us, including our dog, out of the cold, and gave us a room for the night. In the morning they not only fed us breakfast, but invited neighbors over to join us. We enjoyed great fellowship with this family and their neighbors before we continued on our way. We experienced grace, mercy, and kindness. We were so grateful.

Grace and mercy are undeserved. Because of our decision to press on through the snow storm, we deserved to spend the night in our car. We were acting in stubbornness. But the care of our friends, and the kindness of strangers gave us what we did not deserve. It was practically a party.

The theme of undeserved grace and mercy runs through the Bible. In the first eleven chapters of the book of Romans, the apostle Paul explains the Gospel message and summarizes God’s plan for Israel and the world. He describes the sinful nature of every human being, and the grace of our Lord Jesus to save us. He is our only hope.

We bring nothing to God except our neediness. God has showered His grace and mercy on everyone who comes to Him in faith. The first chapters of Romans make it clear that no one is righteous. All have sinned, and fall short of God’s standard. God’s standard is perfection, and no one meets it.

No matter how badly anyone has sinned, we find favor with God through the righteousness of Christ. Jesus lived a perfect life, then died, taking on Himself the punishment we deserve for our sin. He rose again, guaranteeing eternal life to all who believe in Him. It is an amazing exchange. God erases all of our sin, wrong-doing, pride, selfishness, and hate. He covers us with the righteousness of Christ if we turn to Him in faith, repent of sin, and yield to Christ’s authority over our lives. All have sinned. We deserve His wrath. Yet He offers mercy.

Then Paul begins chapter twelve with, Therefore, in view of God’s mercy. He wants us to consider God’s grace and mercy and all He has done for us. It should make a difference in how we live.

Often people get the order wrong. They try to live by a bunch of rules thinking that will make us right with God. Nothing but faith in Christ makes us right with God. But then, after we come to faith, we should live differently in response to God’s goodness to us. Romans 12 gives guidance showing us how to respond to God’s undeserved grace and mercy in our lives. Christ died for us. By His strength, we can live for Him.

Therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God–this is your true and proper worship.    Romans 12:1 NIV

Grace and mercy are undeserved. How have you experienced them in your life? Please leave a comment below.

Blessings,
Phyllis

© 2026 Phyllis L. Farringer

Image by Kim Newberg from Pixabay