Mercy & Grace

And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 

-- John 1:1-14 

When I was a child my Mom warned me not to go across the street and get in the "dirt clog" battle that was going on with several of the neighborhood children. "You'll get hurt" she said. It looked like so much fun that when I thought Mama wasn't looking I went across the street anyway. I stayed in the backyard behind the house across the street so Mama couldn't see me.

All of a sudden something hard hit me on the back of the head. It hurt real bad, and when I reached with my hand to feel where it hurt, my hand was covered with blood. I ran home crying and screaming; I didn't know what else to do. In my child's mind I felt like I deserved to "bleed to death" because of my disobedience.

Mama took me, cleaned up my head, put ice on the small cut, and got the bleeding stopped. She never even said "I told you so."

This became a life lesson for me; a lesson about God's mercy and grace. Mama loved and cared for me even when I disobeyed her. How much more so with God! He loves us so much he sent his only son and allowed him to die for our sins.

Prayer: Dear God, help us never to forget how much you love us. Thank you for sending your son, Jesus, to us and for your mercy and grace that wipes away our sins. You only ask that we repent of our sins and allow Jesus to be our Savior. Amen.

by Janet Thomas is a member of Decatur United Methodist Church.

Lenten Devotional from the MS Annual Conference

God Is Still In Control!

Miss Lladale Carey

Web Content Producer

www.umcgiving.org

lcarey@umcom.org