Gracious and Merciful

Last nights pondering may have been a little harsh in my examples, but I get so frustrated when people make statements as if God agreed with them when there are passages in the Bible that cast a shadow on their interpretation. What I never intended to say was that God is heartless. He is just, yes... heartless, no! Going back to the woman caught in adultery. Yes, what she did was wrong and Jesus does call it a sin. We must note that God is indeed merciful. What was really going on? Were they really seeking justice? Absolutely not. It was a way of trapping Jesus, for the law said that adultery was punishable by stoning them, but the Jews were not allowed to take a life without Roman approval. (This is why Jesus had to be taken before Pontius Pilate to get permission for the crucifixion.) The second key thing to note is that it takes two to commit adultery. Where is the man that was involved? Jesus also points out that not one person in the crowd was completely innocent. The woman was already terrified because of the charge against her. When the crowds left embarrassed, and the woman realized her culpability, I believe her heart was broken. When Jesus offered her freedom, it had a directive , “Go and sin no more”. In other words, if she didn’t repent and turn to God, she would find herself charged again only without help. As we get honest before God, we must all be aware of the wickedness of our sinful nature. Instead of someone else hauling us before God and accusing us, we must bring ourselves before God and fall down before Him to confess our sins. God is extremely merciful, but He is also equally just. By that I mean that an ungrateful heart will probably find no mercy. God’s justice - the wages of sin is death. God’s mercy - salvation to believers. Does God continue to be merciful? We wouldn’t be here if He wasn’t. I do, however, believe that there are many today that neither believe nor are grieved by their wretched life. As the author of Amazing Grace proclaims, I once was lost, but now am found. Was blind but now I see”. Are we as gracious to those we meet? May God’s grace overflow from our lives to others. Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your mercy and grace that keeps us going in this life and gives us a hope of what is yet to come. Amen