Episode 14:  Show Notes

In today’s episode, we will be discussing grace and mercy, how to get and receive more of these in your life, and the importance of cutting yourself a break, all in the name of healthy living.  And as always, be sure to keep an ear open for Dr. Terri’s Health Tip & Challenge of the Week.

Grace & Mercy

If you’ve been listening awhile, you know I love to start our discussions with definitions so everyone is clear on what we’re talking about.  So, let’s start with grace.

1. Grace Defined

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary actually lists 8 definitions for grace.  But today we are going to focus just on one.  We’re going to be looking at an aspect of grace that is based in Christianity.  However, no worries if you’re not Christian, I believe that all people can choose to live a life based on grace.  And since there are a lot of Christians around, you may better understand where they are coming from when they use the term grace.

Grace is

a :  unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification

b :  a virtue coming from God

c :  a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine assistance

This definition forces us to look up some other words too.

What is regeneration?

It’s a type of renewal or revival.  Taking something that is in bad shape and making it new or bringing something near death back to life.

Here’s an example that might help you understand this better.  I am not known for having a green thumb and so I frequently find my plants near death.  But, with enough TLC (sometimes at the hands of someone besides myself) nearly dead plants can come back to life.

What is sanctification?

The state of growing in divine grace as a result of Christian commitment after baptism or conversion.  Being sanctified means being free from sin and set apart for a sacred purpose.

So, essentially this means that for Christians, there is a time when God forgives a person’s sin and then sets him or her apart for a very special purpose.

Personal Focus on Grace

My favorite part of all that we have said so far is that grace is unmerited favor.  That means that grace is not a reward for a job well done.  It’s not given like a merit badge for great accomplishments.  The beauty of grace is that we didn’t do anything to earn it or deserve it; nevertheless, it can still be available at certain times in our lives.  We’ll talk more about this in a moment.

Mercy Defined

Before we get too deep into grace, let’s define mercy too.

Merriam-Webster only gives us 3 definitions for mercy so let’s take a look at all of them.

* compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one’s power

* a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion

* compassionate treatment of those in distress

Once again, this definition causes us to look up another word, forbearance.

What is forbearance?

Refraining from the enforcement of something (as a debt, right, or obligation) that is due.

Personal Focus on Mercy

In a nutshell, mercy is not giving a person what they deserve.  And I have a great example of this.  One summer I taught a Pharmacology course to nursing students.  It was a tough course and the students had other courses going on at the same time, all in an fast-paced summer format.

I used to provide some blank space for students to write me notes if they wanted me to look at something closer, so that they wouldn’t interrupt the class during the test.

One student wrote a very brief note that said “Please have mercy!”  Oh my gosh, that was one of the best notes I ever got.  This student was admitting that he/she didn’t deserve an awesome grade, but was hopeful that I would not give out what was truly earned.  Honestly, this happened quite a few times during my academic ca...