mercy

[Chrysostom]

Mercy. That single word holds more weight than the heavens. You have asked for the very thing we all must seek, for without it we are undone. Yet understand that when God shows mercy, it is no small matter, no mere withholding of a deserved blow. As the Apostle found, it means not only that a blasphemer and persecutor was not punished, but that he was made righteous, a son, a brother, an heir. The gifts bestowed were beyond mercy, springing from affection and excessive love. So to ask for mercy is to ask for a complete transformation, a share in the divine inheritance through faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

But see here the condition and the comfort intertwined. You cry out for mercy, and you do well, for His throne is still a throne of grace. Approach it now, in this due season, with boldness but not with an evil, doubting conscience. The time to find grace for help is right now, while He sits granting pardon. Do not let the opportunity pass, for a day comes when He will rise to judgment and the approach will be unseasonable. Lay hold of the countervailing remedies He has given: a contrite heart, prayer, genuine repentance, and fasting according to your power.

Above all, let your request for mercy be matched by your own heart of compassion. Do not simply say mercy, but put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and longsuffering. Forgive any who have a complaint against you. Why? Because this is the return you make for what you have already received. If you can show mercy and forgiveness to another, you show the love that fulfills all joy. In showing that mercy, you hold together the very fabric of life, for if mercy and love to man are taken away, all is lost. Call upon His unspeakable mercy, but let your mercy to others be the proof that you have not received that grace in vain, and so make the way easy for your own soul.

 

[Silas]

That single word carries the weight of a whole heart. It is the cry of someone who has seen the truth about themselves and knows they cannot stand before a holy God on their own record. The beautiful thing is, that is exactly the kind of person to whom God draws near.

Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Justice would give us exactly what our sins have earned, and if we were honest, none of us could survive that. We cry out for mercy because we know we have transgressed. But mercy and truth meet together in Jesus Christ. On the cross, He took the full penalty that justice demanded, so that God could extend mercy to you without compromising His righteousness. He looked ahead to you and said, "I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy." And that mercy is offered to you today.

Do not let the weight of your failure keep you from Him. It is so easy to disqualify ourselves, looking at our sin rather than looking at His love. But the Scriptures tell us that God is rich in mercy, and He saved us not because of any works of righteousness we have done, but according to His own mercy. The door is open because of what Jesus has accomplished.

Receive that mercy right now. Let it wash over the guilt. Then let it lead you into the grace that goes even further: not only are your sins forgiven and the punishment removed, but you are made a beloved child and an heir of eternal life. Where sin abounded, grace abounds much more. You can walk in peace, not because you are perfect, but because His presence goes with you. That is the proof you have found grace: He stays with you and makes you new.