Mercy

I've been thinking a lot lately about the idea of mercy.  

• Songs have been written about it.  
• Movies have been made about it.
• People often ask for it. 
• Often, we are quite stingy with it.

Mercy.  

By definition, according to the smart people behind Merriam-Webster: 

compassion, leniency, or restraint (as in imposing punishment) shown especially to an offender or to one subject to the power of another

I've thought of mercy as not receiving punishment or a judgment that is well deserved.

Unfortunately, our natural tendency is to want mercy for ourselves but justice for others.

I want to be a person of mercy.  

As Paul David Tripp wrote in his New Morning Mercies collection of devotionals, 

"And as you begin to remember that God's mercy is your only hope and you meditate on the grandeur of the mercy that has been showered on you, you begin to want to help others experience that same mercy."

Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me!

But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.

-Psalm 86:15 NLT

Photo by NADER AYMAN on Unsplash