Grace, Mercy and Blessings

[Nap66]

On another post, someone put forth the following definition of God’s grace, mercy and blessings:

-Grace is when God gives us good things we don’t deserve.
-Mercy is when he spares us from bad things we deserve.
-Blessings are when the Lord is generous with both.

Ok. So how do you know when you are given good things you don’t deserve, or spared from bad things you deserve? For me only, I feel like I have been given very few graces and received very little mercy from God in my life. And blessings? Forgetabout it!

I feel like I don’t deserve anything good in this life because of the person I am and God has responded appropriately by denying grace to me. In return, bad things have been continual in my life, which is deserved as well, hence no mercy from God. I don’t even ask for blessings anymore, it’s pointless with me. Obviously if God does not grant you grace or mercy, you are not getting blessings, no matter how much you are praying for them.

The Church says that no one deserves God’s grace, mercy or blessings because we are all awful, terrible sinners. God only bestows such grace, mercy or blessings out of the goodness of his heart and really we should all be smited to ash right now. So…if we all are not worthy of God’s grace, mercy or blessings, why do some people get them? Why does God look at some people and say “sure I’ll give you something good or spare you from the bad even though you are just as bad as that person over there who I will deny my grace, mercy and blessings.”

Is it a crapshoot? The roll of the die? God decides and there is no rhyme nor reason for it?

But then people will say “you’re alive and living isn’t that grace and mercy enough?” Is it? Just to be alive is a good thing you don’t deserve and is sparing you from something even worse (death?).

 

[Reuben_J]

Many saints asked for death and the only reason they agreed to stay alive is because they knew they needed to do the work of the Lord.

We usually can’t quantify blessing therefore we have to be always in thanksgiving thanking God for his blessings that we know and don’t know, and asking for God’s mercy and forgiveness for the times we take God for granted and did not know His blessing on us.

We can pray for the grace of God therefore that we begin to know the heart of the Father, to be in communion with Him, and to know His blessings for us.

 

[Gorgias]

On another post, someone put forth the following definition of God’s grace, mercy and blessings:

-Grace is when God gives us good things we don’t deserve.

-Mercy is when he spares us from bad things we deserve.

-Blessings are when the Lord is generous with both.

I’m not real fond of this quote. It’s pithy, and sounds good on the surface, but the theology contained therein really does require more unpacking than the quote provides. Worse yet, it leads to the kind of misunderstanding that you’re addressing…

Ok. So how do you know when you are given good things you don’t deserve, or spared from bad things you deserve? For me only, I feel like I have been given very few graces and received very little mercy from God in my life. And blessings? Forgetabout it!

I feel like I don’t deserve anything good in this life because of the person I am and God has responded appropriately by denying grace to me.

So, if the saying is true, then it’s not talking about everyday life experiences, so to speak:

• ‘Grace’ is the gift from God that He gives us in order to justify us and set us on a path with, ultimately (and hopefully), leads us to heaven. Grace is not “anything good in this life”.
• Mercy is the flip side to God’s justice. Whereas we all, as sinners, really don’t deserve eternal life in heaven, God’s mercy grants us salvation. Mercy is not reprieve from “continual bad things in my life”.
• Blessings? That’s the worst part of the quote. It really is just an attempt to wrap up the quote and bring it to an “aww… isn’t that nice?” conclusion. I wouldn’t say that the definition of ‘blessings’ is “when the Lord is generous with grace and mercy”.

God has responded appropriately by denying grace to me

Nope. God does not deny grace to anyone.

Perhaps you’re talking about something different? Perhaps you’re noting that you don’t have the feeling of having received grace?

In return, bad things have been continual in my life, which is deserved as well, hence no mercy from God.

Nope. God’s mercy will be felt in the eschaton. Until then… well, even Job – who is described as the nicest, kindest, fairest guy who ever lived – experienced bad things. That’s not a sign that God isn’t merciful…

The Church says that no one deserves God’s grace, mercy or blessings because we are all awful, terrible sinners.

No, it doesn’t. Are we ‘sinners’? Yes. Are we “awful [and] terrible”? No. You’re thinking of Protestant theology. In Catholic thought, we learn that, even though we are sinners, God loves us even when we turn our backs on Him, and wishes us to return to Him – just like the father of the Prodigal Son!

I’ll be praying for you, @Nap66!

 

[pianistclare]

Self awareness.
One can know they are blessed if they having running water.
It’s in your willingness to see the goodness of God in all things, even the painful stuff.

What our friend GOrias said is excellent.

 

[Nap66]

Nope. God’s mercy will be felt in the eschaton. Until then… well, even Job – who is described as the nicest, kindest, fairest guy who ever lived – experienced bad things. That’s not a sign that God isn’t merciful…

God eventually gave Job all kinds of blessings and riches at the end, in this life, not the next. How would the story of Job have been different if the “happy ending” wasn’t tagged on at the end? Would people still point to that story as an example of God’s grace, mercy and blessings if Job was still penniless and alone until he died? Probably not.

 

[Gorgias]

God eventually gave Job all kinds of blessings and riches at the end, in this life, not the next.

So, this is an instance in which it’s important to understand the time & place in which a story takes place, so that we might understand what’s being said.

In the culture and time of the setting of Job’s story, people didn’t know that there was eternal life. They thought that if you were good, God rewarded you here on earth; and if you were bad, God punished you here on earth. Moreover, they thought, when you die, you simply go to the “abode of the dead”, where everyone who ever lived goes. And it’s not a reward down there, either.

That’s the reason why everyone in the Book of Job is telling him “admit your sin and die!” – it’s because they’re telling him “admit that you’re evil and take your punishment like a man!” The story wouldn’t make any sense, any other way.

So… when we see Job being rewarded, it’s analogous to our perception of attaining to heaven. He receives reward from God in the way that they would understand it at that time. (If the story were written in the New Testament, Job would have been rewarded with eternal life.) Inasmuch as they wouldn’t have understood that, therefore the reward is earthly. That doesn’t mean that this is what God is teaching us, though: our reward will be eternal life in heaven.

How would the story of Job have been different if the “happy ending” wasn’t tagged on at the end?

It’s a teaching story, so the ‘happy ending’ is part of the lesson it’s trying to teach: those who trust in God are rewarded.

Would people still point to that story as an example of God’s grace, mercy and blessings if Job was still penniless and alone until he died? Probably not.

Look at Jesus’ story of the rich man and Lazarus. Lazarus remained “penniless and alone until he died”… and people still point to that story today!