Wednesday Word . . . Merciful God
This Lent a group of us are reading Honest to Goodness: Discovering the Truth and Beauty of a Loving God. It's a book of daily Lenten meditations focusing on “some of the most profound, surprising, and even hilarious words attributed to God.”
The reading for this Friday focuses on Exodus 34:6 – A God merciful and gracious, slow to anger; and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Even when people sin and God is moved to act with justice, God also acts with mercy. When people are about to sin, God acts with mercy in an effort to call them back. When people are in the midst of sinning, God begs them to repent and return to him.
But people tend to overshadow this mercy, graciousness, and steadfast love of God by focusing on God's wrath and punishment. What is it about punishment that we enjoy seeing doled out? Friday's devotion references Jonathan Edwards (Congregationalist pastor of the 18th Century) and his famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”
This Lent, what if we looked for ways to find God's mercy? What if during this Lent we pursued repentance not out of a fear of being punished but out of a sense love, mercy, and faithfulness in an effort to rightly restore our relationship with God?
And then, what if we worked to exhibit love, mercy, and faithfulness toward others that God extends to us?
Have a blessed Lent,
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