Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

He will show you MERCY, have compassion on you, (Deuteronomy. 13:17)

Mercy is one of those “church” words. We hear it used in almost every sermon. We’re told that God offers it and that we need it. And I’m not sure of the exact number, but I think that the word ‘mercy’ is used in the Psalms about ten thousand times. I think maybe we should consider that “Mercy” is an important topic to the Father.

I was listening to a teaching a few years ago by Michael Pearl where he used a story to expand his topic. I loved the story and I think it beautifully illustrates what “God is up to” concerning His gift of Mercy to us all. This is his “story.”

“What do you think would happen if I put a sign in my front yard that said:

‘I buy rocks. $1 each?‘

For a while everyone would be a bit curious, but no one would take me seriously. Eventually, though, someone would stop by and ask about the sign. I would tell them that I buy any and all rocks for $1 a piece. I’d tell them that if they show up in my driveway with a bag of rocks, I will give them a $1 bill for each and every rock in the bag. They’d laugh of course, but eventually, someone would give it a try – probably because someone else dared them. Then I’d proceed to give them $1 for every rock. Soon, word would spread, and before long, people would line the streets with truck loads of rocks, waiting in line for Mike to pay them $1 for each and every rock. I know that some folks would ask me why I would do such a thing. I know that they’d wonder what value I see in plain old rocks. I know they’d be suspicious of my motives because they’d be certain that rocks aren’t worth a dollar and a truck load of rocks isn’t worth tens of thousands of dollars. But, whether they understand my antics or not, they’d show up to cash in something “worthless” for something “valuable” . . . whether they understand or not. That would be the smart thing to do. It’s a good deal!”

I think that is an acceptable picture of mercy. The Bible says that God’s mercies are new every morning and that His mercies endure forever. He assures us that we have NOT been dealt with according to our iniquities but according to HIS MERCY. It doesn’t make sense to us that we could constantly, continually, daily (if not hourly?) present our Father with our failings only to receive His priceless mercy and forgiveness in exchange ~ over and over again! Pouring out mercy to undeserving children is one of the ways that God attempts to convince us of our incredible value and eternal worth – in His eyes.

Mercy. What a priceless, generous gift! Exchanging our failures and mistakes for forgiveness and a second chance ~ EVERY TIME! We don’t have to be able to comprehend it all, we simply have to trust God when he says:

I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

(Exodus 33:19)

Mercy . . . It’s a good deal 🙂

(Also posted @ The Internet Cafe)