As I have expressed before, I have been (slowly, with a shambling, deadish gait) following The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead. However, a few years ago I also discovered the Syfy Channel’s Z Nation. Z Nation was a somewhat comedic take on the zombie craze. Z Nation really pushed the boundaries of zombie cures, then government responses, zombie motivations, and the bigger world surrounding the zombie world, often into ludicrous places. However, now with the zombie craze petering out, Z Nation has been cancelled in its 5th season. I am still working my way through the 5th season so I am hoping that the final episode of the 5th season has a good capstone. I also hope they explain how at the end of season 3, they go from Maddy wrestling with The Man while going over a cliff and Roberta and Doc being hit with a missile from the spaceship all the way to Roberta waking up alone in Zona!!!!! Yes, there have been production issues.

One of the reoccurring themes in the series has been the issue of, “giving mercy”. Whenever they kill a zombie they call it mercy. For instance, ‘Did you mercy those zombies?’ they would ask. They would say this because they are thinking they are doing the zombies a favor by ending their existence.

However, I do not think that the Bible defines mercy the same way. The words “mercy” and “grace” are similar but not the same. Mercy to me and I think in the Biblical sense, means not giving bad to someone something that he or she deserves. While grace is giving something good to someone who does not deserve it. It’s a subtle difference. For example, a person who is going to get a lethal injection for a crime he committed gets the last minute call from the Governor’s Office. That is mercy. While grace would be commuting the man’s sentence 5 years for good behavior.

Mercy is definitely what the Lord gives us when we sin and ask for forgiveness. However, according to the song Amazing Grace, it was grace which saved me and taught my heart to fear and will lead me home. It seems to me that grace is which caused God’s mercy and grace is all around you if you truly repent. I want to avoid the times which I require mercy and fill my life with the Lord’s grace!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don’t know, maybe the phrase, “I give you grace” before killing a zombie did not have the same appeal to the writers of Z Nation. And thankfully, when the Lord gives us mercy, it does not mean shooting us in the head as it does on Z Nation.

Hebrews 2:8-9 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

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