The LORD then passed in front of him and called out, "I, the LORD, am a God who is full of compassion and pity, who is not easily angered and who shows great love and faithfulness. Exodus 34:6, GNT

 

But God’s mercy is so abundant, and his love for us is so great, that while we were spiritually dead in our disobedience he brought us to life with Christ. Ephesians 2:4-5a, GNT

 

We all use the word merciful and think we understand its meaning, but it is a concept that is so wide that I wanted to know how other people define it. I found the following on the internet. “Mercy is when God, out of his loving kindness, withholds punishment that we rightfully deserve because of our sin.” The Lexham Theological Wordbook defines mercy as: “Taking pity on someone or sparing them from something. God’s mercy and compassion cannot be earned by human beings; it is part of God’s nature to be merciful.” And still another: “Mercy is the compassionate treatment of those in need, especially when it’s within one’s power to punish or harm them.” The word “mercy” comes from the Latin word merced or merces, which means “price paid.” Mercy invokes feelings of forgiveness, benevolence and kindness.

 

Now we can better understand when the Bible tells us that God is merciful. It means that he has a heart for those who are miserable, poor, unhappy and in need. Our scriptures for today also use the words compassion, love and faithfulness.

 

When we say God is merciful, we mean that his compassion comes from his heart, the centre of who he is. The heart, in a figurative sense, includes emotions, intellect, feelings and abilities. Taken together, this refers to the person as a whole. Therefore, when God tells Moses that he is a God of compassion and pity, we see that his love and faithfulness are not superficial, but they flow from the depth of his being.

 

In the letter to the Ephesians, there is a build-up to a point where Paul can say: “But God’s mercy is abundant, and his love for us is so great, that while we were spiritually dead in our disobedience he brought us to life with Christ.” This makes me richer than the richest person in the world.

 

So what is our responsibility? In the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), God shows us how we should have compassion for those around us.

 

Prayer: Merciful Father, thank you that you always give us the very best, by giving us yourself. Amen.