Scripture: “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.” — Ephesians 2:4–5
Devotion: Imagine speeding through a town and being pulled over in a school zone. The officer tells you how dangerous it was and how costly the ticket would be: but instead of writing it, he shows you mercy by letting you go with a warning. That feels like a blessing, right? Now think about God’s mercy, which is even greater. The Bible says “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and yet we are spared daily. Lying, stealing, pride, greed, lust, anger; the list goes on. We are guilty of at least one, if not many of these sins, yet God withholds the punishment we truly deserve. Mercy is God’s undeserved kindness, by sparing us from the deserved punishment and outcome ; but instead giving us forgiveness and another chance. Our scripture today tells us that God is so rich in mercy that He does not run out. Does that mean we should keep abusing it by doing wrong and continue to just live off mercy? No, we should love Him enough to not want to do that. This is a perfect moment to pause and thank Him right now for “not” giving you the punishment you really deserved! He loves us that much; yet tend to be ungrateful, unavailable, and unapologetic towards Him. We are even merciless towards others at times.
I pray that today’s devotion touches your heart, and cause you to think about what your life would look like today had He not given you another chance. Where would you be if God had not shown you mercy? Still alive? Still blessed? Still given another chance? Today, let’s not take His mercy for granted. Instead, thank Him for His love that keeps giving us new opportunities to get it right.
Prayer: Lord, I thank You for Your rich mercy. Forgive me for the times I’ve overlooked Your kindness and lived as if I deserved it. Help me to walk in gratitude, live more faithfully, and extend mercy to others the way You extend it to me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.