Monday, May 22, 2006

True Mercy

One of the most beautiful themes in the Scriptures is God's mercy. While God is a God of judgment, he does not act of vengeful rage. Rather he is slow to anger and abounding in love. Though he cannot tolerate sin, he doesn't lash out at us as soon as we transgress, but patiently waits for us to turn to him. If we stray from him, he longs for us to return, and is he is quick to accept us when we do so.

God's mercy is seen so clearly in the life of Yeshua especially in contrast to the religiosity of the spiritual leaders of his day. At that time (as is common still today), religious people thought it was their duty to keep themselves from the non-religious, partly out of fear of contamination. While purity and holiness are essential for those who follow God, we can think that our societal structures can ensure our godliness. As a result we can tend to prevent those who so desperately need God from getting in touch with him.

In trying to come to grips with the reality of God's mercy there are those in our day who have taken it to wrong conclusions. It appears that some think that God's vast mercy extends to overlook all evil. They think that as believers we can do anything we want and not seriously affect our relationship with God. Using terms such as "unconditional love," we create an absolute that is not Scriptural. To know God through Yeshua, we must repent. If we love him, we must keep his commandments. To take him for granted, or to think we can adopt any lifestyle we wish and be assured of eternal life mocks his mercy rather than embraces it.

The good news is that as soon as we are able to recognize this error and turn from our wickedness, confess our wrongs, and rely on him, he will receive us again. So great is his mercy and love.

No comments: