The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Katie P. during the 2008-2009 League.
Mission: Research - Mercy
"Grace is getting what we don't deserve; Mercy is not getting what we do deserve." That's a basic and straight forward definition of mercy. But is that really all it is? That idea of mercy seems slightly cold and impersonal. Anyone can give you another go around.
Checed is a Hebrew word that can be translated to Mercy as well as Loving-kindness; Steadfast Love; grace; Faithfulness; goodness; devotion. Of the two hundred and forty times checed appears in the Old Testament alone, one hundred and forty nine times it is translated to "Mercy," forty times to "Kindness" and thirty times to "Loving Kindness."
Mercy is in the nature of God. Exodus 34:6-7 says "And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin... " God shows His mercy to sinful man numerous times throughout the bible.
In the Old Testament, God sent His prophet, Jonah, to Nineveh to tell them to turn from their wicked ways. After hearing the word of the Lord, the people repented and God spared the city. When Jonah complains that God didn't destroy the city as He had said He would, God replied with "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?" (Jonah 4:10)
Though Jonah's first action would have been to destroy Nineveh and the thousands of people in it, the Lord showed mercy on the people as He'd done countess times before, and would do countess times again. The greatest, of course, being the gift of his Son.
If Mercy is not getting what we do deserve, than Christ's sacrifice on the cross was the utmost show of mercy. He gave his life so that we wouldn't have to die for our sins. He separated himself from the Father, so that we might be able to be with Him. He left the perfection of the presence of God, so that we might be able to spend eternity in His company.
Mercy isn't simply "not getting what we deserve." God doesn't just hand us His love, forgiveness and eternity with Him, with a shrug and a "Yeah, you're welcome kid." In offering us Mercy, He shows us a love so deep it is incomprehensible. It is so much a part of His nature that we as humans can't even begin to understand. He created us in His own image and values us far above anything else in His creation.
