Question:
MERCY
What is God like?

Answer:
God is merciful. Let me share a parable (a story with a spiritual meaning) that Jesus told to show us what it means when we say that God is merciful. (If you have a Bible you can find this story in the book of Luke chapter 15 starting at verse 11.)

Jesus said, "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.

"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' So he got up and went to his father.

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'

"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'"

What was Jesus saying about God's mercy? Who was the worthless son? Jesus is teaching us that God's mercy is like the mercy of the father. Look at the younger son. Isn't he being ungrateful and cruel to his father? He wants his inheritance even before his father dies. And then when he gets it he spends it all and goes off to a foreign land to spend his money on wild living. He uses the money his father gave him and used it for wild parties, prostitutes and the like. Finally he runs out of money and has to get a job feeding pigs. What a disgrace! What a disgrace to his father and his father's household and family name. But then when he has nothing left, he decides he will go home. He even realizes that he doesn't deserve to even apply for a job at his dad’s farm. Doesn't that illustrate the need for mercy? Mercy is undeserved! For a person to receive mercy it means that they did something wrong. If I have never wronged you, I don't need your mercy. It is only when I have hurt you and am guilty that I need your mercy. This man needed mercy.

The young man goes home but while he is a long way off his father comes running to him. His father welcomes him, throws a party for him and gives him new clothes. In reality his father made him his son again. Isn't this a wonderful picture of the greater reality—the mercy of God. We deserve nothing from God. We like that son have been ungrateful and wicked toward God. We don’t thank God for his gifts like we should. Our lives do not always submit to his will—that is we don't always do what is right and good in his sight. Quite often we do wrong. And yet God wants to have mercy on us. He loves us and no matter how much wickedness we have done he wants us to be in a relationship with him. Even if we were so low as to be feeding pigs after losing all we had by spending it on alcohol and drugs, God would still welcome us in mercy if we would look to him. That is mercy! And that is why we thank God for being merciful.