The Dimensions Of God's Love: Mercy
For the Love of God... Mercy, Please!
We are looking at the basic dimensions of God's love being; Benevolence, Grace, Mercy, Persistence. Last week we looked at grace. This week, mercy. God's mercy is his tenderhearted, loving compassion for you and me. It is his tenderness of heart toward the needy. If grace contemplates humans as sinful, guilty, and condemned, mercy sees them as miserable and needy.
Sinful, guilty, and condemned in need of the loving grace of God - Miserable and needy left desiring the mercy of God. The psalmist said, "As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him." (Ps. 103:13) The attribute of mercy is seen in the compassionate concern of God for the people of Israel who were in bondage to the Egyptians. He heard their cry and knew their sufferings, Exodus 3:7-8 NASB "The LORD said, 'I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. 'So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey…" It is also seen in the compassion Jesus felt when people suffering from physical ailments came to him (Mark 1:41-43) "And a leper *came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, 'If You are willing, You can make me clean.' Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and *said to him, 'I am willing; be cleansed.'" Their spiritual condition also moved Jesus to mercy and compassion (Matt. 9:36-38). "Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He *said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.'" Sometimes both kinds of needs are involved. Thus, in describing the same incident, Matthew speaks of Jesus having compassion and healing the sick (Matt. 14:13-16). "Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, 'This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.' But Jesus said to them, 'They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!'" Notice in all these examples, nothing on the part of people was demanded for God to show mercy and compassion. Because of His love for us, God wants us to be with Him. His mercy is required for that to take place; there is an inseparable connection between God’s love and mercy. Jesus laid down His life and became the sacrificial lamb so that God’s mercy could be extended to us. Instead of punishing us for our sin, God allowed His Son to take the condemnation in our place. That is the ultimate act of God’s mercy. James 2:13 NASB "For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment." To our eternal benefit, "mercy triumphs over judgment”. Let us today praise God for His love and mercy extended to us through His son and our Savior Jesus Christ. Love yall in Christ!
Pastor Mike
(602) 510-5563
