Show Mercy
In Mark’s account of the setting free of the Gadarene demoniac, Jesus tells him ‘Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you …’ (Mark 5:21). The next part is telling ‘… and how He had mercy on you’ (v.21).
Our salvation is all of grace and mercy. Mercy is not the same as grace. Mercy is the dropping of the punishment we deserve, and that justice demands. Grace is giving us the very opposite to what we deserve. God in mercy doesn’t punish us, and in grace He pours out over our lives His love and blessing and calls us to an undeserved inheritance.
We will never deserve any good thing from God. We deserve His justice which means His judgement. The Gadarene demoniac had experienced God’s mercy. God’s justice and judgement were withheld.
When we come to God the first thing we discover is His mercy ‘Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy …’ (Hebrews 4:16).
The more we recognise God’s mercy, the more thankful we are likely to be. Every really thankful person I’ve known has had a strong sense of God’s mercy toward them. They’ve not forgotten where they came from. It’s kept their heart tender and protected them from a whole host of problems.
Learn their lesson. You received mercy. Now show mercy.
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