Does the thought of how things work together ever catch you in your thoughts?  It does for me when I think on the mystery of mercy.  In 2 Samuel 12 after Nathan has rebuked David of his sin with Bathsheba and told him of the Lord's consequences to come, David says to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." Nathan's response to David is what baffles me, "The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die." Unless we understand the Holiness of God correctly we will never understand the beautiful mystery of His mercy.  You see, we live in a day and age where we feel entitled to the goodness, the protection, the care and the blessings of God.  We are so unaware of where we have "despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight and therefore we feel so offended and betrayed by Him when the consequences of our ways often times land us flat on our backs.  I am blinded to the beauty of mercy when I can not see how undeserving of His mercy I a...