Hey everybody.
I omitted an important aspect of the Mercy and Truth message from yesterday: There MUST be a balance of mercy and truth in our souls; otherwise, we will make trouble for ourselves and others.
If in our hearts, truth is more important than mercy, we may become more concerned with being right than with being like Jesus. We can become hard-hearted toward those who have erred, if truth is not equally balanced with mercy within us. The root of that imbalance is pride, which comes from losing sight of the mercy God has shown us and from taking credit for how right we are. I believe that earlier in my life, I erred in this direction. Jesus has corrected me by putting me through some hard chastening, and I thank him for it. But if he sees I need even more adjustment, I feel sure he will meet that need. I certainly pray that he will.
Different problems arise when mercy carries more weight with us than the truth does. We cannot be more merciful that God is. “His mercy endures forever,” and His “lovingkindness is as high as heaven”. But we can show mercy at the wrong time and to the wrong person, which God never does. Truth must balance the feelings of mercy that Jesus gives us. If it does not, then we will show mercy when God has not, and sinners will see us as suckers, and the world will take advantage of us. Also, by doing that, we may give those sinners a wrong idea about God, for they will think He is like us.
When we treat others with a balance of truth and mercy, we have found God’s secret path to happiness, and are very blessed. His righteousness and His peace are on that pathway, and how good it is to find it!
Psalm 85:10: “Mercy and truth have met. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”
Pastor John