I’ve recently found my thoughts
surrounding the mercy of God. There’s a song that I’ve been leading for a couple
of years now called “Jesus We Love You.” The words to the bridge are:
Our affection, our devotion
poured out on the feet of Jesus.
Every time I sing these words, I
imagine myself in a couple biblical stories. One is the story of the woman with
the alabaster jar (Luke 7 and Matthew 26), and the other is the story of
the adulterous woman in John 8.
The story in John 8 has been at the
forefront of my mind recently. If you aren’t familiar with the story, I
recommend you take a moment to read through for a little refresher. When I sing those words, "Our affection, our devotion, poured out on the feet of Jesus," I
imagine myself in front of Jesus, with the most powerful people in the world
staring down at me in accusation—my darkest and most embarrassing sins displayed
for the public to see; my fate, my life, hinging on what Jesus would say next.
Sometimes my religious heart wants to remove myself from this situation.
I wasn’t this woman. I never fell into the same sins she did. But Jesus seems to suggest that sin
is within our hearts long before it is carried out in our bodies. I may not
have been in this specific situation at this specific time, but we are all in
this situation from an eternal perspective. Our deepest, darkest sins will be
shouted from the rooftops (Luke 12:3), and we will all stand face-to-face with judgement.
But the mercy
of Jesus is freely given. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. Go no and leave your life of sin."
The mercy of God should inspire
humility and compassion in our souls, with great devotion and worship in our hearts.
That is why we should say it often, not because we aren’t confident that he
will give it, but because it brings us closer to the heart of Jesus.
Kyrie Eleison, Christe Eleison.
Lord, have mercy, Christ, have mercy.
Lane
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