Unmerited favor

            We all have learned from a child up that grace is the unmerited favor of God; mercy.  “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith [in Jesus Christ]” (Ephesians 2:8).  “We are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came through Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24).

            “By definition no one deserves grace and yet it descends, dropping ‘as the gentle rain from heaven,’ to borrow Shakespeare’s comment about mercy.  In response, human spirits ascend beyond heights they could ever achieve on their own.” ~~ Philip Yancey, Why Pray?