The Power of God’s Mercy Is Not Hidden
The power of God’s mercy is totally misunderstood.
In the movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, deadly flames come out of the Ark of the Covenant. People looked inside and lost their lives. Some of us equate those actions as judgment rendered by an evil God because we don’t understand the meaning of mercy.
The actions in that movie represent God’s righteous wrath shown in scripture interlaced with justice. In real life, His mercy is tangible, good, sovereign, and awe-inspiring. God towers over us with magnificence extending large doses of gentleness and tenderness. A merciful and generous heart is behind His best foot forward toward people who fail.
In fact, God has always offered clemency to sinners.
But what is mercy?
In simple terms, it’s when you (like God) extend compassion and forgiveness for wrongdoings when you could just as easily take revenge upon someone. Another phrase for God’s mercy is steadfast loyalty.
The Power of God’s Mercy At Work
Once a year on the Day of Atonement, a priest entered the Holy of Holies. This was God’s method, before Jesus, to make restitution for human sins. God’s representative sprinkled the blood of animals on the mercy seat. This act of atoning for Israel’s sin saved them from God’s judgment another year showing the power of God’s mercy.
Two cherubims designed into the Ark of the Covenant were God’s on-patrol guardians symbolizing His righteousness and holiness.
Inside the Ark, there were two stones listing the Ten Commandments, a pot of manna, and Aaron’s budded rod. These objects all represented people’s rebellion against God in three forms of rejection. To shield God from looking at sin, He enclosed these items inside the Ark, out of view. This short-term merciful solution superseded God’s eternal plan.
God’s Mercy Seat No Longer Contains Animal Blood.
Animal blood was a temporary offering until the Lamb of God, Jesus, became the perfect sacrifice. Many people ask, “Why did Jesus have to die?” Without Jesus, there was no permanent remission of sins. The blood of Jesus sprinkled on the mercy seat in heaven lasts for eternity.
Jesus became the mercy seat for all mankind—everyone in the world. Here’s the thing—God offers this open invitation of salvation (what Jesus did on the cross) to anyone who accepts His Son. The final atonement through Jesus was a permanent solution. Now, God doesn’t see sin every time He looks at people—the blood of Jesus covers their sins.
God doesn’t want you constantly staring at sin either, especially when you have a Savior.
The Power of God’s Mercy We Don’t Understand
Humans don’t understand God’s forgiveness, compassion, and grace. We have more of a “get’em God” attitude when someone hurts us so we can’t relate to why God feels differently. If you haven’t noticed, God doesn’t think, at all, as we do. He extends mercy to the chief of sinners Paul, who was a blasphemer and persecutor—an overall violent man (I Timothy 1:12-17).
Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines who turned his heart to other gods. God extends mercy.
Joyce Meyer, an evangelist with a worldwide ministry, was raped by her father throughout her childhood. Her Dad eventually sought forgiveness and accepted Jesus. God extends mercy.
But none of us deserve God’s mercy and grace. Yet, there it is, plain as day, every time our rotten insides step out of line. Mercy is also tied to my own brokenness. From His mercy extended to me, I can give out mercy to others for their betrayals. I can also choose to not forgive them. God doesn’t make us do either one (give mercy or forgive).
I agree. People do slimy things to others. When you have deep gashes to your heart, how is it even possible for mercy to spew out? Plus, unforgiveness chokes out mercy by blocking the Holy Spirit from working in your heart. To heal, we do what God does.
How Does God Show Us Mercy
I feel great when I’m on the receiving end of God’s mercy. There’s nothing like being pardoned when you deserve punishment. God frees my heart from conviction so I can soar and know the God who loves me fully. Hosea 6:6 teaches us what God is after from each of His children.
“For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.“
You and I trip over offerings we hold up to God hoping they’re enough to cleanse our hearts. God is saying in this scripture that He wants a relationship with us first. Once that happens, we can be merciful, too. Religious attitudes are behind sacrificial offerings, not merciful hearts. When we love Him, we love others similar to how the Good Samaritan did.
God reminded me that He feels the pain of rejection every time people turn to worship idols instead of Him. When He should cut us off because of our grumblings and rebellion, He’s the first one in line to offer support. It’s hard when someone hurts you deeply to “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). Yet, there it is – God saying it’s possible and the better choice when you’d rather retaliate.
Every time a person offers mercy to someone it’s a powerful way to connect to God and others. Mercy is being able to treat someone with love, dignity, and kindness when another person clobbers you with their words or actions. On the surface, they don’t deserve anything good but on a deeper level, mercy captures their hearts with God’s love.
You can throw sins committed against you on the altar before God and exchange God’s mercy for your heartache. You’ll find that mercy is the lifeblood of your Christian faith and is inside you. It’s not hidden after all and is meant to share.