Mercy
“Mercy”…defined simply as ,” not getting what we deserve.” It’s “compassion” mixed with “forgiveness”, sprinkled liberally on someone that doesn’t deserve it. Who among us needs it ? Who amongst “you” needs it ? Now the hard part … who will you administer it to ? As a young teenager, i managed to get into a “pickle” with a store detective because i put something in my pocket without paying for it. I was so scared, i tried giving a fake name and address…which i blundered badly. The detective was having none of my foolishness and undoubtedly had “heard it before”, therefore, he heard my confession through my tears, called my mama and daddy to come get me, and ended my short history of shoplifting…all in one night. The ride home was lonely…the disappointment thick…and i knew what awaited once we got home. My dad wasn’t Hugh Beaumont and my mama wasn’t Barbara Billingsly ( Ward and June Cleaver; “Leave it to Beaver” ), so being sent to my room and receiving a short lecture accompanied by a slice of pie with a glass of milk wasn’t their order of business. I waited on my daddy and that “tool belt”, knowing i deserved the beating i was about to receive. He came in his room with it, where i waited, sitting on the edge of their bed…and as he sat beside me, he quietly said, “ Phil…I’m not going to whip you. I feel like you’ve already been through enough tonight.” I cried anyway…we hugged and exchanged “I love you’s” , and i learned that night what “mercy” felt like. I’ve never forgotten it … it’s one of the few times i didn’t get a whoopin for something I’d done. I wonder…do we “do wrong” because we WANT to be punished ? Does our “don’t care” override our good common sense ? What happened to conscience ? Do we feel like we’re somehow “entitled” to a whole deck of “get-outta-jail-free” cards ? Or maybe it’s the “grace” card we play each time we decide to go outside God’s boundaries. My copy of God’s Word reads the same as yours … so let’s read it together. What shall we say , then ? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase ? By no means ! We died to sin, how can we live in it any longer ? We who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death. We were buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” ( Romans 6:1-4 ). People…if God is willing to overlook our sin so mercifully, all because of Jesus’ sacrifice, shouldn’t we cry a little over that fact and tell Him that we love Him ? And shouldn’t that “reprieve” cause us to repent of even the slightest thought of doing something that would shame His name !? Psalm 51: says, “ Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion ,blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of YOUR salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.” ( Psalm 51:1-2, 10, 12 ) To me, this sounds like a man that WANTS to do better….wants to honor God with his life and grow into the man God wants him to be. It doesn’t sound like a man that doesn’t care what God says or thinks. If our resolve mimicked the psalmist’s, i bet God would grant us the mercy we so dearly need; don’t you ? “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” ( Matthew 5:7 ).