“The Lord,
the Lord, a God merciful and gracious.” Exodus 34:6
My beloved pastor Don Harms had a saying he used time and
again that I will never forget and will always love. The saying was his answer
to what all people really deserve. It was, “Death, hell and the grave!”I have to admit, I’ve used this phrase numerous times on my children whenever they tell me what they deserve.
God, on the other hand, doesn’t always give us what we
deserve:
·
If He did, the Israelites would never have made
it to the Promised Land· If He did, the 12 disciples might have changed after the first week
· If He did, there would be a lot less grumbling and complaining
· If He did, we would think twice before talking behind a friend’s back
· If He did, most of us would probably have been taken out of this world a loooong time ago
But that’s not our God. Our God is Rachum Ve-Chanun;
merciful and gracious. That’s why instead of giving us what we deserve, He gave
us Jesus, His one and only Son.
“Let us then with confidence draw
near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in
time of need.” Hebrews 4:16
