The Marvelous Mercy of God - Ben Bailey

   “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).  One of the great themes of the Bible is God’s loving mercy toward sinful man.  As the Apostle Peter noted, if it were not for God’s mercy we would have no hope in this life.  Notice some of the great statements about God’s mercy found in the Bible.

          “God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ…” (Eph. 2:4-5).  Isn’t it wonderful to know that the King we serve is abundantly wealthy?  Yet, even greater than God's wealth is His Abundant mercy He bestows on His Children. As Paul reminded Titus, “trough the Lord’s mercy we are saved” (Titus 3:5).

          “The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy” (Ps. 145:8).  What makes God’s nature so wonderful is that he is not a capricious and vindictive God. While God does get angry with the wicked (Ps. 7:11), his mercy toward those who love and obey Him far outweighs His anger.  In reality, if each one of us got what we deserved we would be lost in Hell for all eternity.  As the Psalmist pondered this he said, “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:10-12).

          The Christian owes a great debt of gratitude to Almighty God for his marvelous mercy.  May we show our appreciation for God’s mercy by humbly submitting to His will.  Friend, have you received the mercy of God?  Have you obeyed the gospel?  If not, you can obey God’s will today by hearing God’s word (Rom. 10:17), believing in Jesus as the Son of God (Jn. 8:24), repenting of past sins (Luke 13:3), confessing Jesus as Son of God and Lord of your life (Rom. 10:10), and being baptized in water for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  May each of us constantly be reminded of the marvelous mercy of Almighty God!