Whatever it is that is true of God, it may be well said that He is rich in it, because God has no meager supply of anything that makes Him what He is, and this includes God’s mercy, one of the wonderfully benevolent attributes of God. Without the divine granting of mercy, no one would ever be able to approach the otherwise unapproachable God. And, what is it that engenders the release of God’s mercy and the bestowing of it upon the guilty person? There must be the request of it from the suppliant because God grants no mercy to the one not seeking it, and seeking mercy constitutes a tacit acknowledgment of guilt and culpability. Mercy is the withholding of punishment that is due and deserved, and multitudes are denied mercy from God, not because God does not want to extend it, He does. But before God can grant mercy, there must be the acknowledgement of its need on the part of the one who will receive it. For those refusing to admit their guilt, there is no mercy, only justice. For those admitting their guilt, God is said to be rich in mercy.
We’ve heard the expression in our present-day legal settings where the defendant, having been found guilty, “throws himself upon the mercy of the court.” Well, suppose the guilty one should ask for mercy while, at the same time, maintaining his innocence? Such would be a clear contradiction. Mercy is never needed nor is it available to one protesting their innocence. Mercy is available only to those acknowledging their guilt, and toward these God is rich in mercy, as Paul expressed it in Ephesians 2. Mercy aplenty, mercy inexhaustible. And, for those who have done so by admitting their guilt and have become a recipient of God’s mercy, Paul reminds them that “God is the Father of mercies,” in 2nd Corinthians 1.
In writing to another protégé, Paul told Titus that “It is not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He has saved us.” God’s mercy is never in short supply but is lavished upon all who are recipients of it. Mercy simply means God does not give you what you deserve, what pure justice would demand.
But He withholds what we do deserve. This is the wonderful attribute of mercy resident in God and ready to be poured forth in abundance upon all who qualify for it. And how do we qualify? By admitting our guilt before a holy God and appealing to Him for the mercy He has to give, a mercy made possible and available through God’s Son Jesus Christ.
Peter, in His first letter, exclaims, “Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” This mercy, in great abundance, comes from God who has it to give through Jesus Christ, God’s Son whose death makes it all possible.
CC-05-18
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