Is God Merciful

Is God Merciful?

Is God merciful? If yes, then how merciful is God? Is his mercy unconditional? We know God is rich in mercy, and is mercy endures forever. But does is give us license to sin?

God is Merciful

The Bible tells us that God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Bible also tells us that God is rich in mercy and that God's mercy endures forever. What does it mean to say God is merciful? God's mercy is a sign of God's love for us.

God loves us unconditionally and God wants us to be with him in heaven. But because we are human with a fallen human nature we sin, we make mistakes, sometimes we choose to do bad things. But God is merciful which means that no matter what we do God will never stop loving us and he will forgive us for our sins. 

What it means to say that God is merciful we can also look to Jesus on the cross. 

What is Mercy? 

God's mercy means that even though we do not deserve to be in heaven God has made heaven possible for us. 

What is sin? 

Sin separates us from God. It is when we choose to do something bad, something that goes against God's will. 

God has shown us in the Bible and through his church, how he calls us to live and what it means to be holy and when we sin we turn away from God and how he wants us to live. 

What are some examples of sin? 

The Bible shows us many examples both in the New Testament and Old Testament. We can look to Exodus the Gospels and Paul's letters for just some examples.

It is a sin to take God's name in vain or to not put God first in our lives. It is a sin to lie, cheat, steal. It is a sin to gossip, to hate other people, to be rude, selfish, disrespectful to others. It is a sin to do drugs, get drunk, to tease people, to be a bully, to talk back to our parents, to be jealous. These are just some examples of sin.

God’s Mercy 

When we sin we do not fully love God. But God is merciful which means that even when we sin and turn away from him God continues to call out to us asking us to come back to him.

Mercy is God loving us even when we do not love him.

Because of humanity's sinfulness human beings could not enter Heaven. Humanity had rejected God and so the gates of heaven were closed. However because of God's merciful love, God sent His only Son Jesus to become man. Jesus Christ true God and true man walked among us and taught us and then Jesus loved us so much that he freely offered himself as a sacrifice on the cross for us. 

Jesus did this as a love offering to God to pay the debt for all the sins of humanity past present and future.

Because of what Jesus did on the cross humanity was redeemed which means the debt owed for our sins was paid. When Jesus did this the gates of heaven were opened. It was now possible for all humanity to once again have access to heaven to be with God forever.

God's mercy and grace

This does not mean every person is automatically going to heaven but for any person who truly loves God, Jesus made it possible for them to be with God forever in heaven. This is mercy. Because of God's mercy he always offers us grace to help us get to heaven and to help us in difficult times in this life. Because of God's mercy he promises that he will bring good even out of bad situations for all those who love him. 

If we are in pain or sad or suffering God will bring good out of it. God listens to us loves us and wants to help us since God is merciful and will always forgive us. 

Is God's mercy unconditional?

Does it matter if we sin and disobey God? Does this mean we can live however we wish because God is so loving and merciful? Not at all, sin does matter. How we live has eternal consequences. God loves us and has made heaven possible for us but when we sin we disobey God.

All sin rejects God and his love in some way and when we sin gravely we are rejecting God his love and rejecting heaven. If we love God and want to be in heaven forever we will listen to God, love God and obey God.

It is true that because we are human we do at times make bad choices and commit sins. When we sin we disobey God and turn away from him. Sometimes we do sinful things because they seem fun or exciting even though we know it is wrong but God calls us to be holy and virtuous.

We need to avoid sin and when we sin we are not pleasing God and we are not fully loving God. But we should always try to do what is right and good.

If you are being tempted to sin pray to God for help. If you do commit a sin stop what you are doing and immediately pray to God and tell him you are sorry. Tell God you love him and do not want to sin again. If we love God we will hate sin, we will be sad and contrite for what we have done. And for those who love God and repent, God's mercy is so great there is nothing we can do in this earthly life that God will not forgive.

However if a person disobeys God and sins and does not care if it is wrong or makes excuses as to why their sinful act is okay, they are showing God that they do not truly love him or at least that they love themselves more than they love God. Those who are not sorry about their sins are not wanting God's mercy. God cannot be merciful to those who refuse his mercy by continuing to sin.

Pope Francis has said, God is merciful and patient he understands us he waits for us he does not get tired of forgiving us if we return to him, sorry for having sinned.

Prodigal Son parable 

A great parable that can help us to clearly understand God's mercy is the parable of the prodigal son found in Luke chapter 15.

There was a man who had two sons and one day the younger son asked the father to be given all of his inheritance the son took the money and left home he then spent all of the money living wildly doing many sinful things. He enjoyed himself for a while but then soon had wasted everything. He became homeless without work or money. He does find a job working on a farm with pigs but eventually realises how sinful he had been.

He decides to return home because he is very sorry for all he has done. When he goes home his father runs out to meet him and the son tells his father how sorry he is. His father embraces him and forgives him. He is glad the son has come back.

The Bible tells us that while this son was living in sin he was lost, he was dead to the father. This is because the son had left home and abandoned the father and because he had chosen to live a sinful life. But as soon as the son is sorry for what he has done and goes back to his father repenting, the father has mercy on his son forgiving him and welcoming him back home.

The father says my son was lost but is now found he was dead but is now alive again. This is what happens to us when we choose to sin especially grave sin we disobey God and walk away from God. We become lost but as soon as we repent and are sorry for sinning God has mercy on us and rejoices that we have come back home to him. 

Let us never forget how much God loves us. Is God merciful? Yes, of course but we have to try hard to do what is good and right. And when we sin repent so that God can shower his merciful love on to us. God is rich in mercy. If you are truly sorry God will always forgive you no matter what you have done in this earthly life. Amen