Wonderful, Merciful Savior
“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins has quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved).” (Ephesians 2:4-6).
On Good Friday we remembered the deep, deep love of Jesus: redemption, atonement, surrender, and self-sacrifice. In great love and mercy God sent Jesus to take the penalty of our sins by his death on the cross. On Easter we celebrated resurrection power over death; eternal hope through our wonderful merciful Savior! “
What is the difference between mercy and grace? Mercy is showing compassion or forgiveness when it is within one’s power to punish or harm; grace is the free and undeserved favor of God. Without God’s mercy we would have his immediate judgment poured out on us. “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Mercy is only one aspect of God’s complete character. When God proclaimed his name to Moses on the mountain he said, “The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…” (Exodus 34:6-7). David praises his merciful God in Psalm 103. “For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting to them that fear him.” God delights in mercy!
We often view the Old Testament as a judgmental, record keeping history of injustices, but it is actually well balanced with teachings and praise of a very merciful God. Through the Law, God established mercy as the cornerstone for how to treat others, including the poor and the strangers always present among them. Later, the prophets Hosea and Micah wrote, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” (Hosea 6:6), and “What does the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:8).
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Jesus came in person to teach: “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5:7), and “I will have mercy and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Mark 2:13), and “Be merciful, just as your father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36). We are blessed to have the parables Jesus taught about mercy: the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, the Prodigal Son (Matthew 18), and the Good Samaritan (Luke 10). By examining these we begin to comprehend how much God is committed to seeking and saving the lost.
Who doesn’t stand in need of mercy? Who deserves mercy in your life, another chance? For all the mercy we have received, let’s act more like Jesus the next time we are at odds with our spouse, our neighbor or our brother. Let’s act even more like Jesus the next time we meet our erring brother or our enemy.
by Mike Walder
What love could remember no wrongs we have done
Omniscient, all knowing, He counts not their sum
Thrown into a sea without bottom or shore
Our sins they are many, His mercy is more
Praise the Lord, His mercy is more
Stronger than darkness, new every morn
Our sins they are many, His mercy is more
Hymns of Worship # 60
Song by Keith & Kristyn Getty
