“I Desire Mercy..”

We as a creation are more keen to make sacrifices than show mercy. It is much easier for us fo pick and choose something to give up for God than to extend and stretch ourselves to be merciful. Sacrifice for us is very selfish, we choose the terms and tell Christ what we shall offer, but mercy requires of us the uncomfortable trio of loving our enemy, forgiving, and pardoning. Our Lord Jesus made a Sacrifice of Himself but it was for mercy’s sake. We were doomed by sin to remain in hell, Abaddon (inferno) or Abraham’s bosom (purgatorioesque); in both cases we separated from God. But then God did the incredible! He emptied hell and nailed our sins of separation to the cross and destroyed both Abaddon and Abraham’s Bosom’s claims to us! We now have eternal life and heaven! (John 3:16, John 6:40, Revelation 21:1-4).Hallelujah!  

Christ did the most unselfish thing, He lowered Himself and died for us, His sacrifice being the ultimate mercy (sparing us from what we deserve) and giving us His grace (unmerited favor). Sadly we don’t often follow our Lord and God’s example, we are prone to criticism and judgement of each other. While we celebrate that Christ has saved us when we deserves God’s wrath, we pour out wrath on those who disappoint us or whom it is hard to love. We celebrate being the Prodigal Son who returns and receives Mercy from our Heavenly Father, but act like the stingy and judgmental faithful son who hates the Prodigals among us (The Prodigal Son, Luke 13:11-32). 

Our Lord Jesus Christ said on the mount, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” (Matthew 5:7). Christ showed us total and absolute mercy from the cross, and He tells us we must extend mercy, for we have received mercy in abundance from on high, we all deserve wrath and judgement, but God gave us mercy through His Son Jesus! Our Lord and God Jesus said to the religious elite, “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Matthew 9:13). We are surrounded with sinners and we should be extending them mercy, for God has shown us mercy, and one of the best ways is to share The Way, Jesus, to tell them the Evangelion (Gospel) that they may repent and receive God’s mercy with eternal life through Son of God, Jesus Christ. 

We all fall into the circus trap. Like the Romans, when someone who has borne us ill will is stricken, we stick out a thumbs down and cry “Lord, finish them! They deserve it!” But so did we. All of us deserve death and judgement, but Jesus tasted death (Hebrews 2:9) and God’s wrath for us, “He is the one who took God’s wrath against our sins upon himself and brought us into fellowship with God; and he is the forgiveness for our sins, and not only ours but all the world’s,” (1 John 2:2 TLB-Paraphrase, cr Romans 5:9). It is tempting to cry out for blood, that judgement should come to our enemies, but remember, we were God’s enemies, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life,” (Romans 5:10). Our Lord Trinity isn’t asking us to do anything different than He has done when He says, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.' .” (Matthew 5:43-44). 

When we want to judge and join in the parade of someone else’s crucifixion, let us remember except by the grace of God on the cross, we deserve the same treatment and justice.  This does not mean we allow ourselves to be steam rolled or leave evil to abandon, on the contrary there is a time to judge, “Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!” (1 Corinthians 6:3). But when we do assess someone, let us take into account what we deserved and the punishments that would lie in wait if our secret lives were exposed for all to see. Would we want to be treated with mercy or wrath if those secrets came out? We all are fallible and in need of God’s tender mercies daily (Psalm 103:4). Amen.