The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Brooke R. during the 2008-2009 League.
Mission: Research - Mercy
As I researched God’s mercy, I came across declarations of His mercy and expressions of gratitude from those who claimed to have received it. But, I wondered, what exactly is mercy? Is it forgiveness, kindness, or something else? I began to unravel the answer when I read Jude, verses 20 and 21: "But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life."
Jude is challenging his readers to abstain from sinful activities, and brings up the mercy of God’s son as encouragement. God’s mercy is what saves a sinful person from a deserved death penalty. This clearly shows that, although Christians are commanded to be obedient and love God, we still require God’s mercy, as none of us obey or love perfectly.
There are a number of ways God depicts mercy in the Bible, and I came across several passages I felt were especially insightful: Psalm 123:2 "As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy."
Here, Christians are compared to slaves and servants—humans are designed to serve God, and yet we still need his compassion and forgiveness because we sometimes rebel against His authority. God is frequently praised for his unfailing mercy: Micah 7:18 "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy."
To me, the most fascinating aspect of God’s mercy is how He can even use our disobedience to strengthen our love for Him. Romans 11:30-32 "Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you. For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all."
This principle is beautifully illustrated in the story of Jesus’ feet being anointed by a sinful woman: Luke 7 "When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them... the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself...'she is a sinner.' Jesus answered him, 'Simon, I have something to tell you. Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty... he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?' Simon replied, 'I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.' 'You have judged correctly,' Jesus said...'Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven - for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.'"
The Ten Commandments were intended to point out our sinfulness and turn us to God. Through His infinite wisdom, God can even use our bad decisions to draw us closer to Himself, allowing our stumbles in faith and obedience to bring us to a fuller realization of the magnitude of His mercy.
