Grace is getting what we do not deserve; mercy is withholding what we deserve, so they say.
Grace is not holding against you. Grace has nothing to do with just forgiveness. Grace is costly. In light of justice, wrong has to be righted. So in light of a just God, grace is served. It is not just a decision to forgive. It is "I take on your debt and settle it for you"; so it costs Me much- I had to give My Son; but the gracious Me deemed that necessary and appropriate by My standards. As such, we understand it when Paul says, by no means should we continue sinning because of grace; but knowing God's grace transforms us from the inside out. God's grace is self-sacrificial; God's grace is costly. Debt is wiped only because it is paid.
So when we say we show and demonstrate grace, it goes beyond a personal decision. It is a deliberate intent to lose some in order to gain some -losing in the form of denial of rights; losing in the form of forfeiting the need to be right; losing in the form of taking the place of wrong; losing in the form of paying. And then, all in exchange of the one and only thing of worth (in God's eyes)- souls.
So, grace is beyond withholding what you deserve, and grace is beyond getting what you do not deserve. Grace only because God takes the place of receiving what we deserve; grace only because the truly deserving One stepped into the gap and paid the price.
Therefore, how can there be room for cheap grace? Grace of value; the huge price tabled. So, do not behave like a spoilt brat and live a life of "after all it has been paid for already," but grow up in maturity to know that "it cost much; it must be precious; I must cherish."
