Grace is getting what we don’t deserve, and mercy is not getting what we do deserve.
Mercy and grace are similar but not the same. Putting it simply, grace is getting what we don’t deserve and mercy is not getting what we do deserve. In the parable, the son doesn’t get the rejection he deserves. In Christ, neither do we. God’s mercy is bountiful throughout the Bible:
Hebrews 4:16 says because Jesus faced the same temptations we face (though He never gave in), we can approach “the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy.”
Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.”
1 Peter 2:10 reminds us, “now you have received mercy.”
Psalm 116:1 reads, the Lord “heard my cry for mercy.”
In Luke 1:67-79, John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, says the Lord will give people the “knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God.”
In 2 Samuel 24:14, when given a choice of punishment for a sin, David chooses to put it in God’s hands, not man’s hands, “for His mercy is great.”
Titus 3:5 states, “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy."
In 1 Timothy 1:13, Paul says, “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy.”
Every one of us could make lists miles long of the mercies God has given us. But the greatest example of God’s mercy is Jesus paying our debt on the cross. Like in the parable, when we are truly repentant, God shows us mercy and welcomes us with open arms.
The Hebrew word for mercy also translates into love. Even when we stray, God loves us and yearns for us to repent so He can extend mercy.
God gives mercy lovingly and He wants us to do the same. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Later on, Jesus tells a religious leader to “go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Matthew 12:7, Hosea 6:6).
Who can you show mercy to today?