POWER, GRACE AND MERCY

…He who leads, with diligence; he who shows MERCY, with cheerfulness – Romans 12:8b

Many people do not know how to balance POWER and MERCY, but God wants us to be cheerful Models of Mercy (Rom.12:8b). The more powerful some people become, the more wicked and less merciful they turn out to be. Prior to attaining positions of authority, they may appear gentle and humble, but the moment they have a little taste of power, they almost assume the posture of deity! When powerful individuals or groups assume that no one can query them, they do whatever they like. They abuse and misuse power, rather than engage power in service and stewardship. God deals differently with Power. The Almighty is our Model in the wise balancing of Power and Mercy. In spite of His Omnipotence and Majesty, He remains compassionate and merciful. Even though He is the all-powerful God of all creation, His Mercy endures forever. He relates with our frail frame and does not treat us according to the wrath we deserved: “For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust” (Psa.103:14).

God is exceedingly full of mercy, and there is no one who cannot benefit from His Mercy. Every time you call upon Him, you can be sure that His Mercy will answer and His Grace will speak for you: “But God, who is RICH in MERCY, because of His great LOVE with which He loved us” (Eph.2:4). God’s Great Love is the backbone of Rich Mercy and super-abundant Grace! God’s Mercy keeps us from the punishment that we deserved. His Grace grants us access to enjoy the things we don’t deserve. As for me: I am who and what I am by the Mercy and Grace of God. If not for His Mercy, I would not be alive today. If not for His Grace, I could have been among the wretched of the earth. There are many opportunities I have misused in times past, yet by His Grace, I do not live to regret. If not for His Mercy, I wouldn’t have recovered from the consequences of my past decisions and actions.

If not for Mercy, I could have been forgotten in the pits of the wicked! King David is an Old Testament Model of Mercy, an extremely grateful recipient of Mercy. He said on an occasion: “I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps” (Psa.40:1-2). Oh, how so much I relate to David’s testimony! I owe the Lord a load of gratitude for rescuing me from horrible pits, lifting me from the miry clay, setting my feet upon a rock, and establishing my steps in line with His Will.

Saul of Tarsus, who became Paul, is a New Testament Model of Mercy. It’s hard to imagine that a person like Saul, who persecuted the Church of God, would become a mighty Apostle of the Gospel! If one was to think on the extent of damage he single-handedly did to the Body of Christ, Saul should never have been saved. But the Mercy of God knows no such bounds. When Mercy and Grace are at work in a person’s life, he will begin to make his boast in the Lord, irrespective of the past of shame. Paul is recorded to have said: “We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have defrauded no one” (2Cor.7:2). He could say this because the Grace and Mercy of God had deleted all his past misdeeds. When Mercy is at work, every sinner has a future. When Grace is in place, every saint has no past. Even now, you can partake in the Mercy and Grace of God; and if you already are, you can partake of more and more and more, as you share of the same with those who are sincerely seeking for these divine virtues.

Make up your mind to be a wise and faithful Steward of God’s Power and Manifold Grace, as well as a cheerful Model of His Mercy.