The Attributes of God: Grace

Grace is an aspect of God's love, and the distinction is in how God decides to deal with someone.
The focus of grace is that God deals with people not on the basis of their merit or worthiness - not on what they deserve - but simply according to their need. He deals with them on the basis of his own goodness and generosity.
Set it beside goodness and the difference sharpens. Goodness involves not seeking one's own welfare. Grace goes further and shows favour to the undeserving. Goodness looks outward; grace looks outward at someone who has no claim on you.
The Hebrew word behind this lends itself to the idea, and translators usually render it as graciousness or compassion. It turns up in the great descriptions of God's character - the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love - and in Nehemiah's prayer, where Israel has just been described as stiff-necked and God is described in the same breath as ready to forgive.
That pairing is the whole point. The undeserving are not a hypothetical.
Scripture links:
- Exodus 34:6 - a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger.
- Ephesians 2:8-9 - by grace you have been saved, through faith, and not of yourselves.
- Nehemiah 9:17 - a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful.
Favour that your record did not earn.