I was contemplating mercy this week.  Mercy is unusual.  It is a reality that can only be accepted by those who need it.  And yet, many who need it refuse to admit that they do.

Why do we need mercy? We need mercy because of sin.  Sin make us lost.  Being lost makes us separated from God.  Without God there is no lasting truth.  Without truth we sin.  It is a circle from which we cannot escape. 

Mercy breaks the circle.  Mercy inserts a miracle into the natural order.  Mercy gives the condemned access to freedom.  Mercy shows the lost God.

God has declared that everyone who sins is separated from Him.  He declares in the same breath that everyone has sinned. (Romans 3:23) So, what is our hope? Our hope is his mercy.  It is God’s wonderful mercy that has stepped in and saved us.  As Paul declares in Romans 9, “So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.” (16)

What we could not do, God did.  We needed mercy, but we tried to make ourselves better on our own.  This led to legalism and hypocrisy.  What was God waiting for? Why didn’t he save us when we tried really hard? God was waiting for us to admit our need.  He was waiting for us to admit that we need mercy.

When we admit our need for mercy, mercy comes. The question should really be: what are we waiting for?

Something to think about,

Pastor John