Understanding Mercy

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Mercy is an undeserved gift from God which preserves us; sometimes you notice that people have things more than you it is the grace of God that keeps them. Sometimes mercy and grace are often thought to mean the same thing, Mercy is God’s loving kindness towards sinners and his children; God who lets his rain fall on both the good and evil and the sun to shine on both the good and evil while grace is defined as the favor of God. This is what makes an individual qualify for what he ordinarily is not qualified for. At every point in time in our lives we have to be thankful for the mercy of God upon our lives irrespective of whatever situation we find ourselves in.

Sometimes you wonder why bad things happen to a certain group of people and not others.

It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. Lamentation 3:22

Thinking back some of us have never been in an accident or lost someone really close to us, humanity is different and we are all different, the mercy of God is fully evident in our lives no matter the situation. There are countries where Christians are being   slaughter but somehow you can decide to go to a different church every other Sunday. If you come from a home where you have to fast and pray before you pay school fees remember there are people out there fasting and praying for admission into school despite the fact that their parents are well to do.

On being the judge of whether someone deserves something or not

             Ye judge after the flesh, I judge no man. John 8:15

Remember when a pastor friend of yours was getting married and his bride happens to be a girl known for promiscuity in the past and even though she has repented you still felt she did not deserve to marry the holy, pure hearted guy. Or when someone whose character you are familiar with gets appointed as head of a department in church and your mind goes did the Choice Committee fast and pray properly before picking this individual perhaps you feel the individual  is not spiritual enough to handle this post but really its God’s business who he wants to serve at a particular time and he doesn’t have to explain himself to anybody whether you sit in the auditorium every Sunday as a member or worker of a church or you stand in the auditorium as a pastor.

Jesus a perfect example of mercy

Remember Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well despite the fact that the Samaritans were an abomination to the Jews, Jesus still preached eternal life to her, sometimes I wonder why Jesus picked a dysfunctional woman to preach to (someone who had five husbands and was currently co-habiting with her lover) why not pick a moralistic Samaritan and justify preaching salvation by saying i know she will make a good follower.

• Mercy overlooks our errors flaws and shortcomings while grace overshadows over efforts.
• Mercy clears the mess for grace to fill the ground.
• Mercy cleans up the vessel, while grace fills up the vessel.
• Mercy is preparatory to the workings of Grace.

An understanding of God’s mercy towards us and others helps us to appreciate the good that happens in other people’s lives whether they deserve it or not, it drives pride away from our hearts when we remember that our God who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions, it is by grace that we have been saved (Ephesians 2:4-5)

As Christians we serve a God who is ever merciful to us, who looks beyond our short comings and weakness and blesses us all the same, irrespective of whatever our situation might be it is paramount we give thanks always and be content with our lives while looking up to God as our source of up-liftment in every area of our lives. Let us always see the mercy of God working in our lives at all times, so in all that we do, let us come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need.