In Sunday School this week, we had a lesson which talked about God’s mercy. God’s mercy is so much more important than I had ever considered. I decided to refer to this article as the miracle of mercy. Consider this verse in Romans 9:22-23: 22 What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory…?
Right before this passage, Paul was talking about us humans as being similar to lumps of clay — we are created, and there was no decision for us in that process. A lump of clay has no thought process, no opinion, no option for decision making. At creation, it simply exists. There is no sense of joy, no plan on the part of the clay. It is the creator/potter who makes the decisions about what we are going to be. Once we are formed we have purpose, and we can acquire a conscience to become what God intended us to be.
Mercy
So how does Paul get from talking about lumps of clay to talking about God’s mercy? What is in common for both? Neither the clay nor God’s mercy is a choice on our part. We cannot choose to be anything but what we are — something created, that acquires consciousness. When we stand before a judge after being convicted for a serious crime, our future is determined by the judge. We are/I am -at his mercy.
The truth of 9:22
The truth of 9:22 is that God wants to show himself to me. While I may be busy thinking about what judgement is going to befall me, God’s intent is to let me know that there is so much more to life than my piddly crime – if only I would look up from my junky life and realize His great power — which happens to come with His patience. He wants me to see Him.
I have this visual of a bunch of kids hanging out and giggling, oblivious to the adult in the room until their focus is shifted to the ice cream that is being scooped. Life can be way better when our focus is in the right direction. If and when we see God’s power, His greatness, His patience – only then can we see his intent. It is only at this point that we can realize – life is not about how many good things we have done. It is about our focus on God.
A small miracle?
It is only when my focus is on God that I can see His patience in waiting for me, and I can gain a clear sense of his power and mercy. None of this life should ever be about ‘me’. It is all about Him. We discover that when we are able to think this way, the depth and importance of his mercy becomes abundantly clear: … he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory.
Studying Romans is one of the tougher books in the New Testament, since it has a lot of theology (the systematic study of how God relates to man). Since man changes in direct relation to culture, we periodically have to renew our understanding of how God relates to man with respect to our current times.
As a condemned man sentenced to die, to receive mercy from the judge saying “It is done, your punishment for the debt has been paid” is more than a small miracle. It is huge. He did this to make the riches of his glory known to me. In no way, shape or form could I ever be not condemned, except by his mercy.
So, I get it. As human beings we will never be good enough for what God has given freely, by his mercy. I cannot bargain with God for mercy. “Because I did this or that, God, you should have mercy.” It does not work that way. The thing that works is for me to stop messing around with the little things of life, and realize there is a Powerful Presence in my life that wants to know me, and wants me to more fully know the power of knowing Him. Life with God should always be intentional, not casual.
The last part of my verse says He prepared this in advance for the glory — of us (Romans 9:24). Not only did God show mercy, He has planned this for our glory. I imagine it is similar to the idea of a poor man putting aside a little money, year after year, until he is able to buy a car. It is planned for in advance, and one day, the dream comes to fulfillment. God wants to see us get the best out of the life we have with Him. This does not mean material goods, but it does mean the best part of life happens as a result of knowing Him.
There is a southern expression that goes “Lord, have mercy!”. Let us hope and pray that God continues to have mercy. A day is coming when the mercy will end (1 Thessalonians 5:3).
Note: Last week I had internet issues that prevented me from doing any posts (I ended up having to change internet providers!). Be assured, it is always my intent to do at least one post a week.
