“And I will be gracious to whom I am gracious, and I will show mercy to whom
I show mercy” means that Divine Truth and Good will be revealed to those who
are receptive. This is clear from the meaning of “being gracious” as endowing with
spiritual truth and good, in this instance revealing it, since the subject is the inner
substance and the outward form of the Church, worship, and the Word; and from
the meaning of “showing mercy” as endowing with celestial truth and good, in this
instance revealing it. The reason why among those who are receptive is meant is that
the internal things of the Word, the Church, and worship are revealed to none but
those who are receptive. (Arcana Coelestia 10577)
But the Lord’s grace, or activity in people, is more than an affection for
truth. An affection for truth is an interest in the truth, a desire to learn, a
w illingness to understand; in short it involves the complete mind of a person.
Remember the Hebrew definition of grace as stooping low with kindness?
In instilling an affection for truth in people, the Lord adds kindness to that
by stirring a sense of delight or enjoyment of the truth, so that truth is not
simply something to be learned by rote, but something to be enjoyed, to be
savored and willingly incorporated into one’s life. Again the Doctrines express
this very clearly, speaking to those of the spiritual kingdom who are those who
are led and regenerated by means of truth:
To those in the spiritual kingdom it is granted by the Lord to be in the affection of
truth for the sake of truth; and this Divine is what is called grace; so far, therefore,
as anyone is in that affection is he in the Lord’s Divine grace; nor is there any other
Divine grace with man, spirit, or angel, than to be affected by truth, because it is
truth, since in that affection there is heaven and blessedness for them… (Apocalypse
Explained 22)
If the grace of the Lord is the salvation of people by means of truth, which
He accomplished by instilling into people an affection for truth and a delight
in it, then one can see in this concept of grace the workings of the Holy Spirit:
Generally speaking, the Divine actions and powerful effects meant by the Holy
Spirit are the acts of reforming and regenerating us. Depending on the outcome
of this reformation and regeneration, the Divine actions and powerful effects also
include the acts of renewing us, bringing us to life, sanctifying us, and making
us just; and depending on the outcome of these in turn, the Divine actions and
powerful effects also include the acts of purifying us from evils, forgiving our sins,
and ultimately saving us. These are the powerful effects, one after the other, that the
Lord has on people who believe in him and who adapt and modify themselves in
order to welcome him and invite him to stay. Divine truth has these effects. (True
Christian Religion 142)
The Lord’s grace never ceases and is never withdrawn, for if it was, people
would not be able to enter heaven, and the purpose of the creation would be
thwarted.
With these thoughts in mind, we can turn to the idea of living in gratitude.
Most simply put, gratitude is the reception of grace and the recognition that
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