God's Grace and Mercy -- Another View

The Soothing Mercy of God

Rumi

At first, the devil was my teacher, and soon he was no more than a puff of air compared to me. 

God saw all of this sinfulness of mine, but then He transformed it as if He never saw it so He could avoid embarrassing me. 

Mercy repaired the shredded cloak of my piety, and draped me in repentance sweeter than life itself. 

Whatever sins I had committed before, mercy considered them as never having occurred. Whatever duties I had failed to do, mercy considered them done. 

Mercy made me as free and pure as the cypress and the lily; it filled my heart with a sense of fortune and joy. 

It wrote my name in the Book of the Righteous. I had been destined for Hell; yet it gave me Paradise. 

When I had cried, “I’ve fallen to the very bottom of the pit,” my cry became a rope, and that rope was lowered down into my dark hole. 

I took hold of that rope and climbed out. I became happy and strong, committed and cheerful. 

Once I was lying in misery at the bottom of the pit; now I’ve transcended the whole world! Praise be to You, O God, for you carried me far from my distress. 

Even if the tip of every hair of mine could gain the power to speak, that still wouldn’t express the amount of thanks due to You. 

Among the gardens and fountains of Paradise, I’m crying out to all humanity, “Oh, if only my people knew about all of this!” 

From Mathnawi V, 2305-2316 

Reference: Rumi Meditations by Yahiya Emerick (Alpha Books, the Penquin Group, New York, 2008)

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