This morning a fresh blanket of snow covers the ground in the Denver area which reminds me of the blood of Jesus and the fresh mercy that He gives to start each day. Truly, God makes all things new for those who receive it. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, according to Psalm 23.
What an amazing God! Instead of rejecting us for our wrong choices and sinfulness, He has made a way for us to not only be forgiven but also to enjoy a perfect harmony and peace with God Himself. This gift is His mercy. Ephesians 2 reviews the consequences of our fallen flesh and then reassures us, “But God who is rich in mercy.” It certainly is not a coincidence that the presence of God in the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant, was the home for the mercy seat. Praise God that His nature does not change and He is continuing to be rich in mercy to each of us today.
The foundation of the word “mercy” is from the Latin word meaning “price-paid.” How true! God can afford to extend incredible mercy because of the total price paid by Jesus who freely shed His blood for every sin.
Joe Kuhlman, the father of the famous evangelist Kathryn Kuhlman, was mayor of Concordia, Missouri. One day as the city council was gathering for a meeting and entering the city building, a drunk pushed over the mayor as he stumbled into the revolving door. One city councilman said to Mr. Kuhlman, “Are you going to take that?” The Mayor replied, “Sure, I can afford to.” Obviously Jesus, who paid the supreme price, can afford to forgive and show mercy to you and me.
Since we did nothing to receive this priceless gift of His mercy, it follows that we cannot “un-earn” it. Naturally, we did not and do not deserve it. Yet God can do what He chooses to do. Thank God He has chosen to give mercy to us through His shed blood and He chooses to continue to give mercy to each of us. However, there is something we can do to show we are thankful and to continue to walk in it. Jesus declares in the beatitudes, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” His challenge to us is to demonstrate the mercy of God, which you have freely received, as a gift to others.
How much more magnificent in the eyes of God, than the beautiful fresh falling snow, would be the earth covered with the mercy of God. We are the instruments of His mercy. This morning, we are clearly reminded to receive and to show others that gift which is beyond human origin, the fresh mercy of God.
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That is a really cool way to look at the snow. God’s mercy for us is absolutely incredible. His mercy is very prevalent in life every day. Sometimes we have those days when nothing goes right, and we are just utterly upset with everything. It’s those days that we choose to almost ignore God because we are upset with him for “letting” something happen that we didn’t want to happen. We feel like it is His fault because He had the ability to make it otherwise. But, in reality, we shouldn’t be the ones upset with Him. When we act like that, he should be upset with us. God loves us more than anyone else ever could. He sent His son to die for us. That is something you hear all the time. But the true severity of that sentence is so powerful. How could you possibly be upset over such things to the extent of being upset with the one that has given you the power to get through those very things? I am not trying to belittle anyone’s problems. I am just trying to put them in perspective. Yes, everyone has problems and some are worse than others. But on a scale from nothing to the ultimate sacrifice, it’s probably not as big as it seems. But, in the end of the day, God’s love for us never changed. He still loves us even after we ignore him or sin against him or yell at him or do anything against Him or His ways. He shows us mercy all the time. The fact that anyone is alive right now is a result of His amazing mercy. Mercy is very real in everyone’s life, whether you realize it or not. This is something everyone can thank God for. And if God could show us mercy every single day, after everything we do against Him, what is giving mercy to someone that calls you a name or forgets to call you or talks about you. Freely give, as you freely receive.
ReplyDeleteCool, I've never really thought about the snow that way. It does really show God's character and it shows how we should give mercy because he has given so much to us. Also, I find it funny how much people ,especially me, don't show any mercy but expect it from God. Now, just as God has shown me mercy, I will show mercy to others.
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