‘ Alvin Barnes of Jackson Mississippi’From Tee Grizzley to St. Faustina: Mercy Stronger Than Misery

By Alvin Barnes of Jackson, Mississippi

“Let no one doubt concerning the goodness of God; even if a person’s sins were as dark as night, God’s mercy is stronger than our misery.”

— St. Faustina Kowalska

When I first read that, I just had to sit with it.

Because if that wasn’t true, if forgiveness wasn’t real, then what kind of life would we be stuck with?

Imagine having to carry every sin, every mistake, every awful decision for eternity… with no way to lay it down, no hope of redemption, no voice saying, “I still love you anyway.” That would be hell. And that’s exactly the kind of hell I believe Jesus came to save us from.

I think about that verse when I hear music like Robbery by Tee Grizzley. There’s this moment in the song where he’s having a vision of standing at the gates of heaven. He’s lived a rough life, he’s got blood on his hands, pain in his past, and he’s not sure if he’s worthy.

He hears this voice, a presence, and it says something powerful:

“No matter your sins, God got unlimited love and mercy.

You a part of that love, no matter what you did, you one of His.”

Man, that hits deep.

Because so many of us have done things we’re not proud of.

We’ve said things we wish we could take back.

We’ve hurt people, sometimes without meaning to, sometimes because we were hurting too.

And then we carry it.

We carry it in our silence, our guilt, our brokenness.

But God doesn’t ask us to carry it forever. He asks us to give it to Him.

That’s what mercy is. That’s what grace is.

Not a free pass to do whatever, but a holy promise that says:

“Even if your sins are as dark as night, I still see you. I still love you. Come home.”

So when I think about hell, I don’t picture fire and flames.

I picture a life without forgiveness.

A heart stuck in shame.

A soul that believes it’s unworthy of mercy.

A person convinced that their worst moment defines their whole existence.

But that’s not God.

God doesn’t cancel people. He redeems them.

God doesn’t shame you. He calls you by name.

God doesn’t say, “You’re too far gone.”

He says, “You’re still mine.”

And I don’t know about you, but that gives me hope.

Hope that I can be better.

Hope that I can be healed.

Hope that no matter what I’ve done, I can still be forgiven.

Jesus didn’t come for the perfect.

He came for the broken.

He came for the shooter, the liar, the addict, the one who ran from everything and still can’t look in the mirror.

He came for me.

And if He came for me, then I know He came for you too.

So don’t let the weight of your past keep you from the grace of your future.

There’s mercy for that. There’s healing for that. There’s Jesus for that.

And as for the voice at the gate, the one that didn’t burn him, the one that said, “You’re still worthy,”

I believe that voice is real.

And I believe that voice is God.

With Peace and Love,

Alvin Barnes of Jackson, Mississippi

Alvin Barnes of Jackson Mississippi