“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions” (Psalm 51:1).
“I’ve done it again. Messed up big time,” Lisa said to herself. “Dumb, dumb, dumb!”
She wanted to tell the truth. She tried to tell the truth. But Lisa had once again stretched the truth to a lie. And she had thought she was only making the story a little more exciting. Made herself look a little better than what was real. But now she was caught. Knee deep in a lie and the evidence was plain. The punishment would be huge, she was sure. Mrs. Franklin did not tolerate lies.
But this time Mrs. Franklin had a new idea. “Lisa, I know you lied. You know you lied. You have confessed to the lie. You know that a lying tongue is something that God hates. And because God hates it, I hate it also.”
“Here it comes,” thought Lisa. “I’m dead meat.”
“But as much as God hates lies, He loves you,” Mrs. Franklin continued. “Today I want you to understand your wrong actions and the mercy of God. You have shown you understand how your actions grieve God. Here is the mercy part. You may go to recess, and we will not discuss this any further.”
The mercy of God goes hand in hand with His love. Without the love of God, there would be no mercy. When we see the mercy of God, it is because He is love. When I think about it, God’s love shows God’s mercy continually. We deserve Hell and complete separation from God and from all that is good. Yet in His mercy God has chosen not to give us the punishment we deserve. That is mercy.
God is merciful.
My response:
» Do I recognize all the ways God has shown mercy to me?
» Do I try to show mercy to others?