Transcript
Well, we've talked about surrender and purpose and discipline and patience. The final word may be the most important of them all. This word, in a wonderful way, pictures God's response to us. When David prayed that prayer that I mentioned to you from Psalm 51, he starts the prayer with, "Have mercy on me."
Mercy Is Rescue
You see, mercy is what we need. Mercy is rescue. Mercy is deliverance. Mercy is offering help to someone who can't help themselves. You don't understand family unless you understand this: God has sent you on a mission of mercy. I like to think of it this way. You know, when disasters happen, we talk about first responders. Well, if you're a husband, if you're a wife, if you're a parent, you're one of God's first responders.
Now, think about this. What does a first responder do? A first responder rushes in to a burning building, not to critique how the people have lived there, not to judge them for the fire that they started, but to rescue them from danger.
Deeper than criticism, deeper than judgment is the thing that we all need -- mercy, grace. And the way that it works is this, that God makes His invisible mercy visible by sending people of mercy to give mercy to people who need mercy.
God Is on a Mission of Mercy
Now, here's how it works. God will expose the sin, weakness, and failure of the people in your family to you, not because He wants to mess up your day, but because He is on a mission of mercy. And He will expose the sin, weakness, and failure of your family to you so you can be an instrument of His mercy.
It's never an accident. It's never an interruption. It's never a bad moment. It's never a hassle. It's always mercy. Mercy is why you see the sin of your children. Mercy is why you see the weakness and failure of your husband and wife. Mercy is why those moments take place. God is revealing what needs to be revealed so you can be part of His mercy because you cannot minister to that which you do not know. And so, He'll reveal those things to you.
Now, understand mercy. Mercy is not about just letting those things go, just closing your eyes to those things. Mercy is not about calling bad things okay; but in mercy, I run toward the person who needs rescue, rather than away from them. I don't reject them. I don't ignore them. I don't scream at them and slam the door and walk away. I don't tell them how much smarter, wiser and more righteous I am than they are. Those are all the actions of judgment. No, mercy moves towards you and I move towards you because I know you need God's rescue, and I want to be part of that rescue. I want to be part of the rescue that only God can provide.
The Burning Building Is Me
Now, think about this. No, I don't need to be rescued from a burning building. Or maybe I should say it this way, the burning building I need to be rescued from is me. What mercy does is mercy delivers me from me because I'm a danger to me. And listen, if a first responder is only worried about what is good, easy and safe for himself, he won't move towards you. He'll drive by you.
You see, again, if you're going to be a person of mercy, you'll have to surrender to God's will. If you're going to be a person of mercy, you're going to have to say no to yourself in daily discipline. If you're going to be a person of mercy, you're going to have to take up God's greater purpose of transformation. If you're going to be a person of mercy, you're going to be part of a long-term process of rescue with a call to wait. There's a God of mercy who has invaded our families by His grace. His mercy is our hope. How about tomorrow being one of His first responders?
