Abundant and Surprising Mercy

THIS WEEK was pretty cool. God never really stops speaking, and He is very poetic. This week He's brought to my attention one theme which is very, very familiar but which we all need a reminder about every now and then: mercy.

Last week when Pastor Russ started talking about the first commandment he explained that God likes to show us His amazing, overwhelming power, and then He shows us His goodness. Exodus 19:18 describes how violent and fiery Mount Sinai looked when God had descended upon it and was about to talk to Moses. But He talked to him by voice. He gave the people laws to use so they could please Him and not hurt themselves, and so they could have a relationship with Him. He shows that He is powerful and then that He is good. Like a thunderstorm: He cracks the sky with lightning and the loud boom of thunder, and at the same time He sends rain to feed the earth. He is able to do whatever He wants, and He does. And what's astounding is that He actually wants to be merciful to us, so that we can see that He is good and that He loves us, and so that we will glorify Him instead of some god who cannot save us nor bless us like He can. He wants a relationship with us based on love, honor, and obedience. He wants us to love Him back. And what He did so that we could have a relationship with Him is He showed us His goodness by wiping away our sins at a heavy cost: the death of His Son. God became our way to God.

On Tuesday I looked at the Bible reference in my devotional book: it was Psalm 107. Jesus saved my life. God saved me with His mercy. It's strange to me, but I'm still surprised by His mercy. I looked in Psalm 107 and I was surprised at how merciful He is even to those who have completely forsaken Him. Read that Psalm real quick.

Verses 10-13: "[10] Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons - [11] Because they rebelled against the words of God, and despised the counsel of the Most High, [12] Therefore He brought down their heart with labor; They fell down, and there was none to help. [13] Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses." The people in question are criminals against God. They didn't keep His commandments and they didn't listen when He warned them, so they were in trouble and suffering. That sounds like most of the world. He gave them punishments (which could have been avoided if they'd just listened) to show them that they couldn't survive the way they were acting, and look what happened: they fell down and couldn't get up. Now we have a picture of these people on their faces in the dirt. They fell down. They couldn't save themselves. So they called on God. God could have chosen to say "No! You should have obeyed before." He could have said to pull themselves up, or to forget about it because they'd lost their only chance. No, this is a God of unexpected and surprisingly abundant mercy. Mercy which He pours out like He does rain. He saved them out of the trouble they brought upon themselves because they called out and admitted they needed His help. That's what He does when we admit that He, Jesus, is the only way to God. The only way to be saved from what we've done to ourselves. He gave us Jesus: He extends this offer like a helping hand, or an engagement ring, and as soon as we'll take it and agree to let Him change us He will make it possible to survive, He gives us new life and He never goes away.

On Thursday I was at a cool event at church called the School of Discipleship, for middle and high schoolers. One of the first things we did was have a quiet time. I went and picked out a chair in the rotunda and asked God to show me something, to talk to me. He showed me Psalm 32. Go ahead and read that one real quick. I love it. Verses 3-5 express something which is very close to the human heart. Sin makes our bones grow old (v. 3) and it wears us out to have it hanging there. It's a heavy chain around the neck which comes with a hard condition. Once you've put it on, it's impossible to take it off yourself. You can make yourself stop feeling bad about it. You can laugh about it, or pretend it's not there and hide it in your clothes. But it wears you down despite what you say and drags you to the ground until it kills you, and God sent Jesus to save us from that.

God punishes sin. He hates it. It keeps His children separated from Him and it demonstrates a disobedient and rebellious heart for us to pursue it. So He punishes those who wear it. But look at verse 5: if we acknowledge our guilt to Him and don't pretend we're perfect, if we confess what we've done and repent, that is, turn completely away from the sinful things we do, He promises that He will forgive us. He will take the chain off. He will do for us what we could never do for ourselves. He will save us from ourselves. Verses 8-9 promise that God will guide the steps of those who are obedient and trust in Him. They won't get lost and He won't leave them alone. He is very faithful and very good.

Think about that mercy for a minute. God is more powerful than can be expressed. He is great and unlimitable and always victorious in everything He does. Nobody begins to compare with Him in might. He could do whatever He wants to us for disobeying, and He would be completely just in doing so. But He chooses to be merciful to those who call on His name.

Why in the world would He do that? He is a Father. When a kid behaves really badly, Dad will teach him a lesson he won't soon forget. He will lock him in his room, make him do things he doesn't like to do, take things away, and sometimes he'll give him a spanking or whack him with a belt. But when the kid comes and says he's sorry for being disrespectful and shows that he knows what he did was wrong, Dad will take him back. Of course he will! He loves him. He loves him enough to die for him. Any good dad would die for his child. Isaiah 49:14-18 gives a good description of God's faithfulness. A woman will forget her nursing child sooner than He will forget His people. God saw that we were leading ourselves to death and that it was necessary to give His Son, God-in-Man, so that we could go free. He saw that it was necessary for Him to die for us to save our lives and to show us that He loves us. And He promised to take us back if we'll just come back. Just come back home.

I love Psalm 32. It tells us a reason to be joyful: God is merciful to those who trust in Him and are righteous. He will punish those who won't accept His gift and let their sins be washed off. He will give punishment where it is due, but He loves when people come back to Him (check out Luke 15:11-32) and be His again. The sins have to be wiped away first, and we have to accept that we need Him to wipe them away.

Psalm 69:30-33 is a good example of God's goodness and a good explanation of the kind of heart He likes to see. "[30] I will praise the name of God with a song, and I will magnify Him with thanksgiving. [31] This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull, which has horns and hooves. [32] The humble shall see this and be glad; and you who seek God, your hearts shall live. [33] For the LORD hears the poor, and does not despise His prisoners." Beautiful. What He wants is humility. He does not want sacrifices on altars, ceremonies, or gifts as much as He wants a humble heart. That's the best gift we can give Him because a humble heart is one He wants to do something with. He will forgive those who humble themselves, who come to Him and confess their faults and shortcomings, and He will turn those people into people who are useful in spreading His truth and giving Him glory. In Matthew 23: 11-12 Jesus declared "[11] But He who is greatest among you shall be your servant. [12] And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

I know this story is told alot. It's the foundation of Christianity. God is merciful. But we hear it so much that I'm afraid we sometimes might forget what it means. This week I think God is reminding me that His mercy may be abundant, but it is also special. It may be free for me but it wasn't free to Him. He's reminding me that He is the God of my salvation, the only one I can hope in and trust in, and He alone can keep my soul alive. He's warning me not to forget His mercy, nor take it for granted. I hope and I pray that we never forget who Jesus is. I hope that instead we each feel His presence changing our hearts continually and that we remember to thank Him each day for being our Redeemer.

Isaiah 55:6-7 says "Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous his thoughts; let him return to the LORD and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." God can forgive anyone. And once He does, life is never the same again.