Day 14: God is Merciful

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness”. - Lamentations 3:22–23

It's hard to talk about God's mercy without talking about God's grace. Put simply, grace is when God gives us what we do not deserve—forgiveness of sin and new life in him. Mercy is when God does not give us what we deserve. It is sobering to come to grips with what we really deserve from God. We are sinners and deserve God's judgment apart from God's intervention (Rom. 3:23; 6:23). God is indeed "rich in mercy." (Eph. 2:4) When we remember what we deserve, we cannot help but marvel at God's mercy towards us. On top of this, God's mercy is not short in supply. It is new every morning. This means our praise for God should spring forth new every day too.

It would be a mistake to think of mercy merely as passive, with holding from someone what they deserve. Throughout the Bible, we see that it is God's mercy that compels Him to act. One striking example of this is in the book of Jonah when God sends Jonah to bring a message of repentance to the people of Nineveh. Jonah struggles with why God would show mercy to such an evil nation. Too often, we are like Jonah and want mercy for ourselves but not for others. The book ends with God asking Jonah, "And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?" (Jonah 4:11)

Jesus demonstrates not only that God is merciful, but He expects His people to be merciful too. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. (Matt. 5:7) The same mercy that God has shown us is to characterize our lives, particularly in how we treat others. Not unlike God's patience, His mercy is to be reflected in the way to respond to difficult situations and difficult people. How quick are we to assume the worst? To want vengeance? To want others to feel the pain they've caused us? Jesus warns us if we treat others this way, we shouldn't be surprised when we experience the same. Instead, we are to reflect our merciful God and show mercy to others. Think back about your interactions with others this week and ask yourself, "Have I shown mercy in the way I've spoken and treated others?"

Prayer

Merciful God, I rejoice that you are rich in mercy. I know my sins are many, but your grace is greater, and your mercy is more. Help me never get over the gift of your mercy towards me. I confess that I don't always think about your mercies every morning and, at times, I don't treat others with the same mercy you've shown to me. Forgive me. I want to reflect you in the way I treat others. I want my life to make your grace and mercy real to others.