My Merit Versus God's Mercy

A battle wages within me...somehow believing that I am good enough for God's acceptance rather than believing that it is only God's mercy that saves me. I don't know why a voice in my mind sometimes suggests to me that I am not that bad. I haven't murdered or committed adultery. So why wouldn't God accept me?

Yet, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus destroyed my argument by speaking about matters of the heart. He said that anger was equivalent to murder and that lust was the same as adultery. Oh, my...I am guilty! Maybe I am not who I think I am — good enough on my own to escape judgment. Could it be that I cannot imagine how much I need God's mercy?

  This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (I John 4:10 NIV) 

What sweet relief that I don't have to answer the question, "How good is good enough?" Join me in gratitude for God's mercy.

Sharing the journey with you,