I'm Thankful that Mercy is not for Pansies...

Luke 1:50
He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him.

Matthew 5:7
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

A few weeks ago I attended my brother's church in Philly: Circle of Hope.  He spoke about the topic of mercy that day, and God has been bringing it to my mind ever since.   

What's the difference between grace and mercy someone might ask?  In my mind, grace is being given what we do not deserve, while mercy is being spared what we did deserve.  So many times in the Christian life we focus on what we have been given, but sacrifice the awareness of what we have been spared.

I've been camping out on these thoughts the past few weeks.  One of my favorite illustrations that my brother referred to was looking at the game of Mercy.  I'm sure we've all played it at one point or another as children.  Wikipedia defines it as this:

Two players face each other, holding their opponent's hands...On the word "go", each player attempts to bend back their opponent's hand and inflict pain by straining their wrist. When a player can no longer stand the pain they declare defeat by shouting "Mercy!"
The very fact that a game such as this was named "Mercy", reflects that we have an incredibly skewed idea of what it really means to be shown mercy.  The truth of the matter is the idea of Mercy is seen as something undesirable.  It's for the fragile and the weak, the those who can't handle the pain anymore.  Asking for mercy is taking a step down into the dark abode of shame and confessing that we don't have what it takes because at the end of the day, Mercy is for pansies.  

And sadly, for so many of us, we have taken that view of mercy into our own spirituality and allowed it to effect our relationship with God.  If mercy is for the weak, then who really wants it? 


It's time that we redefine what it really means to receive mercy.  

I think one of the reasons so many of us have a hard time really appreciating mercy is the fact that we really forget where we have come from.  Just like the parable of the man who was pardoned a huge debt and immediately went and tortured someone who owed him just a little bit.  He forgot where he had come from, and the mercy that had been granted him.  It makes me wonder if he ever REALLY accepted the mercy that was granted to him...because he walked away, and failed to live it out.  True mercy breeds mercy. 

For you see, it may take strength to show mercy....but it takes wisdom to accept it.  It takes a wise man to understand his need to be pardoned and make the choice to walk into that undeserved reward.  And for those who will take that risk, it will inevitably transform every part of who they are.

Mercy is not for pansies....it's for wise men.  It's for those who understand the miserable place that they were, and recognize the love of a God who chose to bring them into something greater.  Those who see the utter despair that God has pardoned them, and seek to live a life that pardons those around them. 

Today, I am thankful for Mercy.  I am reminded every so clearly of where I have come from and where I should have been...but here I am today.  Thank you Lord for your unrelenting mercy, give me the wisdom and the strength to live in such a way. Have mercy on me again, and again, and again. 

*What has God pardoned in your life?  Where might you have been otherwise?  Thank Him for his mercies today. 

Ruthless Mercy: Thoughts on Sodom and Gomorrah

A different perspective on the usual story.


Genesis 19:16
When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand, and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters, and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. 

Sodom and Gomorrah.  That’s the story in Genesis 19 where this little verse is tucked away.  Sodom and Gomorrah, the story identified with justice and wrath.  God’s punishment on a people who had mocked and defiled Him.  In fact, I believe that this passage is one where many (believers and unbelievers alike) are caught in a web of spiritual and philosophical confusion.  A loving God choosing to act in ruthless judgment. 

It’s easy to focus on that wrath.  It’s easy to allow it to taint every part of who we had believed God to be.  It’s easy to get lost in our own preconceived notions of who God should be, rather than come to terms with who He really says He is.  A God of justice…but most astonishingly, a God of ruthless mercy. 

You see, hidden beneath the fire and brimstone of this chapter, one finds a seed of truth burying its roots into the foundation of His character.  Merciful.  Severely and wholly merciful.  Ruthlessly merciful. 

The evidence for this is clearly seen in God’s interaction with Lot.  Though Lot was himself engrossed in sin, though he was so quick to compromise, though he was living a life with a divided heart- trying to please both God and man; Lot was still under the mercy of his Lord.  Even in the moments of his hesitation, even in the moments of relapsing back into the sin which so easily entangled, God was merciful, and because of His mercy He led them to safety. 

What was the difference between the sin of Lot and of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah?  What was it about Lot that made God so apt to look favorably upon him, to save him?  What was it about him that made him rest under the mercy of God?  The answer is absolutely nothing.  There was nothing about Lot that made him worthy, no, nothing but the saving grace of his God.  A grace that has been offered to all.  A grace that will only enter into the lives of those who will allow it, those who will accept it. 

It’s comforting to know that.  It’s comforting because I too, like Lot, have my moments of hesitation.  Moments where the temptations around me entice and allure me.  Moments where I willfully compromise.  I’m grateful that through it all, I rest under the assurance of a ruthless mercy.  A mercy that loves me so much it will not allow me to remain where I am.  A mercy that calls me out of my destructive ways and into safety.  A mercy that grasps my hesitating and stubborn hand, and leads me gently into a place of rest. 

Thank you Father, for your ruthless mercy.
_____
For reflection:

• Is there an area in your life right now in which you are "hesitating" to take the next step that God has called you to take?  What is holding you back? 
• Are you, like Lot, living a life of compromise in certain parts of your life? Who are the people who are keeping you there?  What are those things that you find it difficult to part with?
• Have you found it difficult to accept God's undeserved grace and ruthless mercy in your life?  What are the lies that are keeping you from entering into that forgiveness and freedom?