Mercy isn’t a term we use much in our daily walks. Personally, mercy makes me think of my big brother putting me in some sort of a headlock or other torturous position big brothers are supposed to inflict on little brothers. If I said “mercy” he would relent. He was bigger and stronger and chose to impose his will upon me. He had the choice to show mercy when I asked or continue to impose his punishment.
Mercy can be defined as compassion or forgiveness towards a person whom you have the ability to punish. Mercy requires some form of wrongdoing to occur. It may be a mistake or it may be on purpose, but one person violates established terms of a relationship.
We may not be in a position of hierarchical power over someone who does something wrong towards us. It may be a friend who says something hurtful or doesn’t live up to their word. It may be a child who has chosen to go against the rules of the household. We certainly hold the power to punish by choosing not to speak to them, discontinuing a friendship, or grounding our children.
With God, it is quite a bit different. First, we are the ones who put ourselves in this position. He called us to a place of royalty. We were called to oversee the creatures of Earth with Him. With the fall from grace which occurs in the Garden of Eden, all humanity is destined for sin. We become “programmed” to make mistakes. Sometimes we make them with full knowledge of the mistake we are making. Other mistakes we make over and over again. As Pastor Andy Stanley says, some of us are “serial mistakers”. Mistake seems to have taken the place of sin in our common vernacular.
God could have left us in this brokenness. He could have treated creation like an etch-a-sketch and shaken it up to clear the screen and start over. Instead, He set the stage for the greatest demonstration of mercy the world will ever see. Jesus assures us that we do not pay the price for our mistakes, for our sin. He paid for that on the cross. He cleared our debt forever.
Let’s show compassion. Let’s provide forgiveness. Let’s be merciful. Jesus did.
Be blessed and be a blessing,
Matt
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