mercy's store

The gospel: you are more twisted inside than you would ever dare imagine. You are more loved than you would ever dare hope. Love and justice; mercy and holiness. Ungracefully, and like an old shoe, one or the other comfortably envelopes our heart -- never both. Well, most the time. When love's robust and justice thin, Christ no longer had to die, and I am no longer "that bad." When my heart sees justice alone, Christ no longer had to live, and I am crushed and exhausted as I save myself. Those moments when both take hold -- fully, not fifty/fifty; consummation, not compromise -- are the moments in which my stone heart turns to soft babyskin flesh. I am "that bad," and I am "that loved:" this gospel is compelling, it is good news, my heart's true rest.

Let us wonder; grace and justice

Join and point to mercy's store;

When through grace in Christ our trust is,

Justice smiles and asks no more:

He Who washed us with His blood

Has secured our way to God.