Love and Mercy

What's your perception of God?

QUICK LINKS:

Follow: Twitter | Instagram | Telegram | Truth Social | Podcast Membership|
Broadcasts: Rumble| HappyHour |This Wk wDrT | Brighteon | Bitchute | Tues Coffee

Learn about ECP: Health Center Cleveland, OH | Health Center Ventura, CA
Websites: DrTenpenny.com |Tenpenny Apparel| Tenpenny Supplements

Psalm 145:9 (ESV)

The Lord is good to all, and His mercy is over all that He has made.

I’m reading a really good book, “God Has a Name” by John Mark Comer, which I highly recommend. I enjoy his writing style: conversational, insightful, witty. I’ve literally laughed out loud in many places at his vivid descriptions! A few of the themes within the fast-reading, delightful book include how God is slow to anger, abounding in love, and overflowing with mercy. The primary message of the book is based on Exodus 34: 6-7.

"Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth, keeping loving kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and disobedience and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the children's children, on the third and on the fourth generation."

I began to ponder that word: mercy. What does it really mean? Doing a little research, I found some interesting perspectives on the word mercy.

“Mercy” comes from the medieval Latin word merced or merces, which means "price paid." It implies forgiveness, benevolence, and kindness. Mercy is defined as “the compassionate treatment of those in distress, especially when it is within one's power to punish or harm them.”

According to Dictionary.com, mercy is a noun, but it is better described as an “action noun.” Mercy is something you can actively do, something you are going to do, or similar to God’s mercy, something you are withholding from doing. In the Bible, God's mercy is His compassion, love, and kindness toward all people, not just His people. He has showered mercy over many thousands of years on humanity because He wishes that none would perish, but all would come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

God’s mercy – His patience with our society’s downwardly spiraling moral turpitude is beyond our understanding, or at least, it’s incomprehensible to me. I keep waiting for God’s wrath to come smashing down on these global evildoers in the form of a righteous iron fist, grinding them to smithereens. Anticipating God’s wrath is more real to me than viewing God as a bubbly fountain of love.

Comer makes a point throughout his book that the relationship we have or have had with our earthly father is, at least in part, how we come to engage in the relationship with our Heavenly Father. I can certainly relate to that.

My dad was not the supportive, cheerleader-type figure in my life – that was my mom. He was a good provider and never physically abusive, but he wasn’t a warm, daddy-like person either. He was always the “life of the party” when out and about – you could hear his belly laughs half a mile away. Literally.

But at home, he was not that same guy. Especially not with me. No matter what I did, it wasn’t good enough, and when I did something exceptionally well, even noteworthy, he would say something like, “Don’t get too cocky. You may not do as well the next time, and don’t forget…pride comes before the fall.” He said that Every. Single. Time. My mom would try to make up for the emotional slams, but the blows had landed, and many have lasted a lifetime.

Our family had a tradition. When anyone arrived or left our house, they would be given a hug and a kiss on the cheek. When I got older, I would peck my dad’s cheek on the way out the door and say, “Love ya, Dad.” He always said, “mm-hmm.” I can’t remember one time in my entire life that he said, “Love you too,” or “You did a really good job at that,” or “I’m proud of you.”

Which has long been my “perception” {is that the right word?} of Yahweh. Since my earthly father was mostly aloof, I’ve viewed God as mostly aloof, standing apart with arms folded across His chest, always with a somewhat disapproving look on His face.

Don’t get me wrong. I love my God completely. Since recommitting my life fully to Him, I want every step of my life to be in accordance with His Word and His will. I strive to hear His voice. I pray daily for the forgiveness of my sins of commission (what I’ve done), my sins of omission (what I failed to do), and for His mercy – His love and compassion – for this floundering girl. I’m not perfect – far from it – but when I stand before Him one day, my heart longs to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. I love you, my child. I’m proud of you.”

The picture my mind painted of God viewed Him as the grumpy owner of all the NFL football teams, the guy watching the entire game called Humanity from a Royal box seat, calling all the plays. It’s His will, right? Humans run down the field and crash into each other, sometimes celebrating a first down, but more often than not, falling, fumbling, and getting hurt. At some point, an unwanted ‘bad guy’ runs out onto the field, disrupting the plays. God gets a chance to pounce on the bad guy for, well, causing a disruption in His 4-D game on planet Earth.

(I’m not going to segue into a discussion of predestination vs free will now. Another topic for another day....)

Comer’s book gave me a different visual, one that will help me start breaking through this view of an indifferent, displeased God.

He told a story about the birth of his first son, Jude. It went like this: (pg 147 of the Kindle version)

When Jude was born, he had done nothing but cry and poop and cost money and steal my wife’s sanity and keep me up all night, night after night. But I couldn’t. stop. kissing. him. I was a fire hydrant with a blown cap – a torrent of loving emotions all dumping out of my heart. And this, from me – Mr. Type A. Can you imagine how God feels about His children?

Maybe those of you who have kids and grandkids and great-grandkids and little nieces and nephews can relate to that story in a very real way. I have none of those youngin’s in my life, so the description filled me up with a puff of emotion and brought me to tears.

Maybe God has that level of love…for me? For you? For all of us?

What does God’s Word say about His Love for us? Here are just a few:

• Jeremiah 31:3 - The LORD appeared of old to me, saying, 'Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love: therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn you.

• Isaiah 41:13 – For I am the LORD your God, who takes hold of your right hand, who says to you, Don't be afraid. I'll help you.

• John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

• 1 John 4:19 – We love Him because He first loved us.

God’s love and mercy are what we seek with all our heart and soul. I pray that we will all experience Him, His love, and His mercy more fully every day.

Today’s prayer

Dear Abba Father, thank You for simply loving us. You didn’t wait until we got everything right to come into our lives, but You loved us and met us where we are. Thank You for holding us, not with arms of judgment but with arms filled with agape love, the depth of Your love we grapple to comprehend.

Thank You for Your mercy, Your patience, and Your compassion toward the human condition, toward each of us. We are so thankful for Your constant love; may we never take it for granted. Help us to learn to embrace and love others with the same tolerance that You love us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.