Mercy And Love

“And I will be merciful to them in their wrongdoings, and I will remember their sins no more.” Heb.8:12 [TLB]

“But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much” Eph.2:4 [emphasis added]. It is just so amazing that God is not only rich in mercy; He is also very rich in love. God is rich in mercy and He is full of love. I was walking down the street and something caught my eye, a father and his son were having a coaching lesson. The grass was green and the pitch was set, the father placed the ball in the penalty spot, just twelve yards from the goal post. There was no goalkeeper; it was just the father and the son, he was trying to teach the boy how to kick the ball into the net and score a penalty. Do you know what the son did? He just kicked the ball way off – totally off. To me, it was totally ridiculous but guess what the father said? Good shot! And I was like, wait a minute! Are we looking at the same situation? The father got the ball and again placed it in the same spot. And again the boy kicked it way, way off. By this time, I was getting irritated. Why is this man condoning mediocrity? Put this boy in order. But this man kept picking up the ball and placing it in front of the boy. The boy was trying really hard but he kept kicking it away. But the father just kept cheering him. Then finally the boy kicked the ball, in my opinion a weak shot because the ball was just rolling. If there was a goalkeeper, he could sit on the ball to catch it. So the ball rolled and rolled into the net. And the father carried his son, shouted ‘goal!’ and began to jubilate. I thought, what kind of father does this? And God said, “My kind of father”. At that point, I looked at my own life, – me that was impatient with that boy, how many times have I kicked a penalty shot with no goalkeeper in front of me? How many times have I kicked it to the moon? And God had said, ‘Don’t worry, kick it again’. And people that are standing by and looking were critical like I was of that boy. But God’s mercy says no! This is my story. This is your story. How many times have people given up on you and abused you because you couldn’t score a penalty kick? How many times have people left you for dead? But God’s mercy said no; kick it again. And when you finally scored, heaven rejoiced. This is the God we serve. God butted into our lives and refused to let us go. And because Jesus is alive, we have these amazing opportunities with God to resurrect. I don’t know what is facing death in your life; I have news for you today, that there is resurrection in Jesus’ Name. I don’t know what you are afraid to face; I’ve been asked to tell you that because He lives, you can face tomorrow.

Prayer [Hymn]: God sent His Son, they called Him, Jesus; He came to love, heal and forgive; He lived and died to buy my pardon. An empty grave is there to prove my Saviour lives! Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds my future, And life is worth living, just because He lives. Amen!