Pastor JR’s message this morning in second hour youth group covered an extremely important topic, and that is of the communicable attribute of the mercy of God.
The first image given to set the tone for what this mercy entails came from the word’s very etymology. The Hebrew word “racham” and the Greek word “oiktirmos” both refer to the emotion of pity and compassion that is so strong, it is felt in the bowels, or intestines. (More graphic parallels were made to illustrate the idea of intestinal feeling, most of which shall remain unspoken of on this post for now hehe)
Back to the point though, both of these words derive the word we now know as mercy, which is most often biblically manifested in the theme of not delivering the punishment that one deserves. This is complemented by grace, which is the generous giving of that which one does not deserve.
The first question Pastor JR asked us is this, does God have emotion? After a grueling moment of nervousness as analysis paralysis froze most of us youth, he referred us to 2 Samuel 24:14, which affirms mercy as an attribute of God, and worth staking all our hope and trust in, as David does in the passage, even amidst a time of divine judgment for some specific prideful sins committed.
This was an eye-opener. There tends to be this misconstrued image of Christ that many of us hold, and that is of a sort of Stoic, emotionless man who wandered about and spoke great profound truths in a monotone voice, never cracking any sort of expression that would denote any inward emotion. In reality, while we still hold a reverent view of our Savior, Scripture reveals that God is not a stiff-necked dictator, but rather, it is in His nature to feel a tender compassion towards us.
This in itself is an astounding mystery. How could the holy, sovereign God of the universe ever bring Himself to choose to have such emotion for such undeserving sinners like you and I? It seems ludicrous, from a human standpoint. But this only further magnifies the incredible grace and love displayed in His mercy.
His mercies are displayed in countless ways. The most notable of which being the gift of salvation as displayed in the work and person of Christ, who didn’t do the bare minimum, but humbled Himself to the utmost bottom, and became flesh. The God of the Universe subjected Himself to being a helpless infant, having to grow up like every child, having to experience the horrors of puberty, all in dwelling among us, facing every temptation Satan through in His path, and through it all, He did not sin. And despite all this, being the only human ever to walk the face of the earth to not deserve the wrath of the Father, He took upon our sins, that we might be saved. What an astounding display of love. He took the full blast of the just wrath of God against our sins, because He loves us. Such mercy should bring all of us to our knees and invoke a desire to live in joy and humility.
His mercies are further displayed in the daily provisions we are yet undeserving of. While God could justly strike us down where we stand at any instant, He mercifully bestows the breath of life on a continual basis, giving us the pleasures of His creation (food anyone?). It truly is amazing that He allows us to even take our next breath.
All have received the latter mercies, and some have received the former. For those who have received the glorious gift of salvation, the question we then need to ask ourselves is this, why are we not passing it on? If the God of the Universe could condescend to my filthy level and save someone as undeserving as me, why do I still claim all these liberties in not showing such love and mercy to those around me? So what if personalities don’t click, social cliques differ, or even if there is enmity. We who were enemies of God were yet recipients of this sovereignly bestowed mercy. It’s not only a question of are we thankful for this, though we should be constantly, but if we truly are, we do we not reflect it in our day to day lives?
Do we choose to feel a deep sense of compassion for even those in our same household? I could ask a thousand questions like these, and the only thing I could really accomplish is pointing out how even in myself, I fall short so many times and by so far. Though saved from the bondage and eternal consequence of sin, I still can do nothing apart from the grace of God and the sovereign work of sanctification. I am yet a work in progress, not yet perfect until the day I enter His heavenly courts. This should cause me to live prayerfully and faithfully in biblical devotion (yes, this means I need to work the QT’s). It’s so easy to walk about in a mindless daze, but that is so dangerous. The vital thing and the only thing that will cause change is the effect of the love of Christ. Being our church theme of the year, I think it’s an incredibly appropriate and important thing to consider, on a constant basis. The love of Christ must dwell in us for change to take place. Therefore, let us dwell in Him, praying without ceasing, and hiding His Word in our hearts, that we may bring glory to His name, enjoy Him fully, and display this love for the world to see, not that they may look to us, but to the light we seek to reflect.