One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!" But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise."
- Luke 23:39-43
God's mercy is evident in every aspect of His word and our lives. In Luke Chapter 23 we see a great display of God’s mercy! As Jesus bled on the cross next to another man who was being crucified. The man asks for Jesus to remember him, and the Lord tells Him that they will be in paradise together. In spite of what the man had done to be punished, The Lord saw it fit for Him to dwell in eternity simply because He was repentant. Jesus gave the man something that he didn't deserve, and that's what we call mercy.
A great example of God’s mercy is found in the book of Jonah. The prophet Jonah was asked by God to go to Nineveh and minister to the people there. However, he tried to run away from the presence of God by escaping to Tarsus instead. As Jonah ran away from God he eventually ended up in the belly of a big fish. Whilst in that belly he prayed and God granted him mercy. As he arrived in Nineveh and ministered and the Lord relented from the destruction of the people. The Lord also responded to their time of prayer and fasting by withholding the judgment that He had planned for them. The Lord not only showed mercy on the land of Nineveh but on Jonah as well. Although Jonah tried to escape God’s plan and be disobedient, the Lord gave him a chance to do the right thing.
Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
- Isaiah 53:10
If it hadn't been for the crushing of Jesus Christ, then we wouldn't have salvation today. God gave up His only begotten son and allowed Him to suffer so that we could become partakers of the divine inheritance. We get to enjoy what Jesus suffered for, and we are the reward of His sacrifice. We have been translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. As believers, we can confidently say that when we die we will go on to glory. When we look at all that God has done we can simply see God’s mercy and how gracious He has been to us. Jesus came and lived as a man, He faced many temptations for our sake. He had to pray, fast, and overcome, just like us! If that’s not merciful I don't know what is!
So what do we do with the mercy that we’ve received? It’s simple! We have to praise and thank God for all that He has done for us! Not only as humanity or the global church but as individuals as well. God has given us several promises, and He has kept us through all that we have been through!
Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your own people and tell them how much the LORD has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."
- Mark 5:19
The man in this verse had been crying out all day and night, living in the tombs, and being tormented by demons constantly. He was simply possessed and out of control! When Jesus Christ delivered the man, the people in the city saw and asked Jesus to leave because they were frightened. The delivered man followed Jesus and wanted to go wherever He went. But instead, of allowing the man to follow Him, Jesus told him to stay where he was and to tell people what God had done for him. We mustn't be quiet about what Jesus has done for us. We must continue to proclaim and testify the mercy that we have received from the Lord. As we testify, God will move on the hearts of people and they will come into the knowledge of who He is.
So what’s in store for us? We have great things to look forward to in the future as well as in the afterlife. Because of the promises that we have in Jesus, we must be grateful and we must not be discouraged. God has healed, delivered, and restored every last one of us. Not only in the past but even now! God has redeemed us from death and He doesn't treat us according to what we deserve. Jesus carried the punishment that we were supposed to suffer so that we could be with Him forever. And because He wants us to be with Him forever. He has given us instructions in His Word, the Holy Spirit for continual guidance, and mercy so that we can continue to run this race. His mercies are new every morning and we can approach His throne without shame or blemish. Thank God for His mercies today!
Message from Paul Finesse
Written by Blessing Finesse
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