MERCY SAID NO... Do you remember your growing years? No marks for your answer. However, cast your mind back to the various gaffes and infractions you used to (and most likely still do, cheeky you!) commit. Remember how you stood trembling before your father or mother even as you knew your sin had found you out? Remember how your imagination had painted pictures of a sore behind from the obvious judgment to be meted out. And your Dad put your pain in bold relief when he bellowed out in what sounded to you like the grinding purr of a train and an express ticket on it to Golgotha, Who did this? Answer me now or I will send you to meet your Maker Trembling like a leaf in the grip of a typhoon, you blurted out, Its mmmmmmeeeee sssssir. I ammmm sssssooorry! Then he took one hard look at you and said, Just get out of here. But make sure you never do that again You thought you were dreaming. This is too good to be true? What kind of soap did you wash with in the morning of that day? What prayer did you pray? You wanted to know what it was that got you off the hook so you could do more of it. Knowing what you suffered when you did something of lesser gravity, you could have sworn that this time around you would kiss the gates of hell. But here you are, standing forgiven! Remember the prodigal son?Mercy is the channel through which grace flows into and in our lives. Mercy is the prerogative of the One who has capacity to pronounce judgment but who chooses to mitigate it. The one who receives mercy is usually undeserving of it and he knows. This is what accounts for a heightened sense of appreciation on the part of the one who receives mercy. Luke 7:36-50 Jesus miracles, encounters amd reach-outs to Gentiles, lepers - outcast, unclean, persona non grata - to the Roman centurion - dreaded enemy of the civil populace and symbol of the oppressor - to the Gadara encounter and the partying with the scum (NLT) all serve to demonstrate this. He was constantly reaching out to the undeserving contrary to the religious traditions that ostracized those perceived to be unclean. At no time did He come from the angle of condemnation or guilt. Even when He hinted at sin as being at the root of the problem, He let the sinner see that Gods cavity to deliver him was greater than the capacity of sin to hold him down - unless of course he willfully submitted to its power. Romans 6:1-2 You cannot understand or operate in grace until you know about mercy. Several times in his epistle, Paul talks about having obtained mercy. He should know, considering his background before the encounter on the road to Damascus. We are recipients of His mercy - 1Peter 2:10 Mercy is an outflow of Gods love. How do you know you love God? Love as He loves. How? Follow Christs model. As I have loved you Mercy can be regarded as the noblest way great people and leaders exercise power! This stems from the fact that even though they have the power to use it against the offender, they choose to use it in his favour. Nothing is as displeasing to God as one who has received mercy not being able to extend same to others. The spirit of religion produces a hardness of heart that makes the person who feels he is perfect to conveniently forget that he too received mercy and without mercy, he would be as lost or condemned as the person he currently judges or condemns. Such people simply bring themselves under greater judgment because with the same measure they mete out to others, they will be rewarded in return! Fast track to Matthew 18 from verse 23. A servant owed his master 10,000 talents. A talent was a workers salary for NINE years of skilled labour at that time! His master placed a demand on him to pay up. Unable to muster the means to pay back, the master issued an order of forfeiture of assets, including human assets of the debtor-servant. Declaring bankruptcy, the servant piled pressure on the master for debt forgiveness. He got it. Shortly thereafter, he saw a fellow servant who owed him ten pence, an infinitesimal fraction of a talent. In spite of all pleas for debt relief and some time to pay, he hounded his fellow servant to jail until he would pay up. Unfortunately for him, other servants heard what happened and knowing what the master had done for this merchant of Venice they promptly reported him. He got his just dessert. What is the key that unlocks mercy? Compassion! Borne out of a vicarious identification with the lost, forsaken, depressed, outcast. Its about being acquainted with (their) grief in the recognition that if God were to really mark iniquity, no one would stand. People who operate outside of Gods mercy can only produce lifeless religion that places emphasis on their ability to do good and be perfect rather than a dependence on the God whose grace makes life meaningful. Remember, in yourself, you are NOT perfect. It is in Christ that you are MADE perfect! If the devil had his way, you have enough iniquity stashed up to earn several jail sentences. But mercy said no... Good morning! Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 22:10:11 +0000
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