We can be so selfish at times. We can be all too judgmental as well. There are times when we forget the great sacrifice that was made on our behalf when the Lord Jesus Christ went obediently to the Cross and shed His blood for our sins. We know that we have all sinned and we are all deserving of eternal separation from God in a literal hell.
God made a way for us to obtain forgiveness of our sins by sending Jesus to this world to live a perfect and sinless life. Jesus died on the Cross and took the punishment that you and I so very rightly deserve. God reached down and had mercy upon us in our time of need. We must repent of our sins and place our faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross in order to be saved. We are saved by grace through placing our faith in Jesus Christ and what He accomplished for us on the Cross.
The Lord Jesus rose to life on the third day and He is now at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. One day Jesus will return to judge the earth and bring the Kingdom of God to the earth in full completion. Thankfully, the Lord didn't leave us on our own to fend for ourselves until the coming of Christ, but He gives the Holy Spirit to indwell everyone who receives Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
What a great and awesome thing the Lord has done for each of us. God is rich in mercy. We can't earn this mercy or grace, but we must receive it with thankful hearts. We should be thankful for His mercy and we also should extend that mercy to those around us. It is hard to do that a lot of the times especially when we feel wronged by someone. It is hard to forgive people when they hurt us or someone we love and care about.
When I think about mercy I am reminded about a parable that Jesus told His disciples that we can find in Matthew 18:21-35 which says,
"21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him.
25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’
27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.
31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.
33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’
34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed."
The servant in the parable owed a great debt to his master that he could not possibly pay on his own no matter how hard he worked. The servant begged for mercy and his master had mercy on him. He however forgot the mercy that he was shown and treated another servant harshly and refused to show mercy to him.
We have been shown mercy by God for the great debt that we owe because of our sinfulness. Our sin debt is so big that we can't pay it off on our own no matter what good works we do. That is why we each need a Savior to show us mercy and we must receive His grace by faith. Jesus showed us mercy by dying on the Cross for our sin debt which we are unable to pay on our own.
I am thankful for God's grace and His mercy that is new everyday. I have no reason to look down on anyone because of their sin because I have been shown great mercy for my own sins which are many. May we never forget the mercy that Jesus shows us and may we extend that mercy to those around us. People need the Lord. We must tell them the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Lord, Heavenly Father,
Thank You for Your mercy and Your amazing grace.
Forgive us for looking down on others and judging them.
Help us to extend the mercy that You showed us to others.
Lead us and direct our steps.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
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