“‘Mercy’ is the self-moved, spontaneous compassion of God for the miserable and distressed, freeing the sinner from the consequent misery of his sins.”
D. Edmond Hiebert
I started reading through 1 Timothy and when I came across the typical greeting, it was easy to gloss over these trifecta of words: grace, mercy and peace. So instead of running to the next verse, I wanted to hone in on the word “mercy.”
The word “mercy” stood out to me for a variety of reasons. I really liked the band MercyMe back when I was in college. It’s a famous catchphrase from the TV show Full House too. Matt Papa’s song, “Mercy is More” is becoming a recent favorite. And one of my favorite verses is Lamentations 3:22-23:
The steadfast love of the LORD never cease; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
The word “mercy” stands out because of two reasons: 1) the depth of God being at the center of mercy and 2) the utter despair and humility His people must be in to receive such mercy.
God-centered Mercy
The point of “mercy” is to shine the spotlight back to God. It is God’s decision and prerogative to exercise mercy upon any individual. But while we may think God’s standard for showing mercy is some sort of check and balance, instead is “self-moved, spontaneous compassion.”
I’m often reminded of Ezekiel 16 and Deuteronomy 7:7 when it comes to this idea of God being self-moved into spontaneous compassion. Deuteronomy 7:7 clearly delineates God’s reason for choosing Israel. Or better, God eliminating potential reasons for choosing Israel. Deuteronomy 7:7 states:
It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples.
The size of your population was a mark of being a powerful nation. So if you were looking to select a nation to call your own, you would want to have at least a lot of people. But God makes it clear, Israel’s population was not the basis of His choosing. In fact, they “were the fewest of all peoples.” In other words, Israel had nothing intrinsically valuable for God to select them as His people.
In Ezekiel 16, we take note of God’s encounter with Israel. A lot of imagery and metaphoric descriptions are being used in Ezekiel 16, but Ezekiel 16:1-7 focuses on that first encounter between God and Israel. It wasn’t love at first sight. In fact, everything about Israel would scream out, “Not worthy!” Lacking of any appeal, God showed mercy to Israel and causes her to flourish.
Compassionate and moved to action because Israel was not a developed nation and described as a newborn baby that wasn’t properly taken care of, it reveals that God selected Israel because God wanted to and had pity upon Israel.
Mercy and Our Humility and Despair
But Ezekiel 16 doesn’t just capture God’s compassion, it also highlights the proper position to receive mercy. There is a picture of complete helplessness and despair in Ezekiel 16 that prompts such a merciful response from God.
And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born.
Ezekiel 16:4-5
When I read that verse, it informs me that when I come across a topic like God’s mercy, I am not in a position of power or influence or fame. Rather, it is the exact opposite. I’m in a position of humility, desperateness and despair. I am doomed from the beginning unless someone shows compassion to help. God’s mercy can only be received when I truly understand my plight.
It makes for a better understanding of Paul when he writes in 1 Timothy 1:13
though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief.
Paul understood that mercy can only be truly received when the recipient recognizes their unbelief and ignorance of God. And trust me, when you recognize your unbelief and ignorance of God, you can’t help but to respond in gratefulness because of all the unbelieving thoughts and sinful actions you had committed in the past.
Conclusion
Falling into sin is a given as a believer. Justified by faith alone, absolutely yes. Living day to day in perfect obedience to God’s Word? That’s the aim that I fall short of too frequently. And yet in that despair and guilt, I must not the run from source of mercy when sin happens, rather to run to Him and cry out for mercy to be poured out.