by Tonya Woodridge-Jarvis
There’s an old song that says, “God’s mercy kept us so I wouldn’t let go!”
“It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness,” Lamentations 3:22-23.
He hung, bled and died for our sins. He gave his only begotten son for our sins. They whipped him all-night long for our sins. They pierced his hands and feet for our sins. He went through all of that so we could continuously win.
In the 1962 Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Harper Lee, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a well-respected white lawyer defends a black man against fabricated rape charges. The trial exposes children of both races to the evils of racism and stereotyping. In this era, blacks and whites were segregated in some parts of the world. But as the story goes, the well-respected white lawyer represented a black man and won. While this could easily be a piece about courage, think about the adversity they both faced during this time. Think about the mercy and compassion the lawyer clearly had for his client, and the trust the client had, which would have been quite difficult during this era. They threatened his family and threw burning bricks into his home, but he took the case anyway. This book sparked so much controversy that it was banned in some places.
In today’s society, we are still faced with racism and various adversities on a daily basis. But in the Kingdom and on judgment day neither creed nor color will matter when God says, “well done.” God extends his mercy to us through his love. Shouldn’t we do the same for all of God’s creatures? He provides for us when we’re not worthy; he protects us when we’re not worthy, and he keeps giving us chances to start over with another day.
So tomorrow when you start over, ask yourself, “Since God grants me mercy through his love on a daily basis, whom shall I grant the gift of mercy to today?” If God saw fit to redeem you, shouldn’t you see fit to redeem someone else? Show God’s love in action on a consistent basis not only to people you know but to strangers as well. After all, you can’t live to your fullest potential without God’s gift of mercy and love.
