By Mercy Alone

Reading: "Remind the believers to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good. They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone. Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. But—“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.” This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone." (Titus 3:1-8 NLT)
As followers of Christ, we should always be ready to do what is good. We should replace our fighting with understanding and compassion. We should show mercy to others, keeping in mind that we were once in their shoes and God still showed mercy to us. The devil is deceitful. He doesn't come as a terrifying monster with a cape and horns. He instead comes disguised as everything you've ever wanted. We once fell into his trap and became labeled by our sins and our lusts. But God still showed mercy to us. The evil of this world once defined who we were, but through God our hearts were made pure. God saved us despite the bad we had done, and without thought of the good we had done- as if that actually could have been enough to impress him anyways- but by his mercy alone. Through Him we have a new life here on Earth, and more importantly the promise of a new eternal life, free from evil, harm, and darkness. Because of our faith in God and our loyalty to his word, we should devote our time to all things good, and showing others the good in Him. That way, people who are still lost can be found by God. People who are weak can be made strong through Him. And people consumed by sin can find hope in His promises.