The Gift of Mercy

God's mercy amazes me. That is, when I'm aware of it. You see, many days I simply glide through life completely oblivious to the wonders of God's mercy. Behind the scenes, most often without my knowledge, God is moving. He protects me by moving me or moving my circumstances. Why? Because He loves me like no one else can.

Recently, a new wrinkle in God's mercy has been revealed to me. Not that it is really anything new, but my recognition of it is fresh. I am seeing anew that God, in His mercy, regularly protects me from, well... me.

My flesh is capable of whatever evil I can imagine. Lies, greed, pride, even murder. My main struggle, however, is with lust. My flesh wants me to fantasize about women who are not my wife. Obviously, such a sin is not healthy for me and only leads me to disconnect and isolate from relationships. In other words, "...the wages of sin is death." Now, apart from God, I deserve such an extreme consequence (death) for my sin. But Jesus said that He came to give me LIFE. This is where God's mercy comes in.

Many times when I am tempted to go down that familiar path of lust in my mind, God intervenes with a "way of escape." (1 Cor. 10:13) This is His mercy stepping in and protecting me from the inevitable consequences of my sin. He is reminding me that the price Jesus paid was not in vain and that I can experience abundant life in Him.

As amazing as God's mercy is, I am sometimes more amazed (or perplexed) at how often I am the stumbling block to my own growth. I would like to blame the devil, or the world, or the media. But when I look at myself in the mirror I see a child of God clothed in human flesh. And it is my very own flesh that is the most challenging obstacle I face. But praise be to God that the victory for my soul has been won by Jesus Christ, and that one day I will shed this foul garment of flesh and be forever robed in the radiance of God's glory! What a day that will be. A day for rejoicing at the mercy of God in my life...

Humbled by Mercy,

jonathan