GRACE OF JESUS
“Grace” stands for the divine mercy of Jesus. Instead of punishing us for our sins, Jesus took upon himself the punishment for our sins, rescued us from the eternal damnation, sanctified us, and will present us to his Father at his second coming. It is only because of Jesus’ saving action that we are eligible for eternal salvation. Isaiah wrote 700 years before Christ on how Jesus would show his grace toward humanity: “Yet ours were the infirmities he bore, ours were the sufferings he endured; although we considered him as one punished by God, smitten by him and afflicted. But he was wounded for our sins, he was crushed for our wickedness; the punishment that made us whole fell on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isa 53:4-5).
When a child makes a mistake and becomes helpless, the parent rescues the child even at a loss or suffering. God the Father sent his only Son Jesus to do the same for His children who are in a helpless situation. So, Jesus fought for us against the devil, suffered for our cause by taking our iniquities upon himself, and offered himself as the sin offering for us. Without Jesus, we could not achieve this.
No other religion has a God that would show such grace to the believers. Humbling himself as a suffering person, sacrificing for the faithful, and forgiving the faults of those who hurt him are characteristics of this incarnate God.
We who are sinful cannot achieve grace by ourselves. So Jesus did it for us. To imitate Christ is to take up the acts of Jesus’ grace and mercy in our lives. The mercy that the father showed to his prodigal son (Lk 15:11-32), the rescue and forgiveness Jesus gave to an adulterous lady brought to him for stoning to death (Jn 8:1-11), Jesus’ prayer for the forgiveness of those who crucified him (Lk 23:34) are examples for us to learn from the mercy of Jesus.