The Holy God of Mercy
A lot of you look at your own life and determine that you’re not worthy of mercy. That’s a common affliction. The danger of it is that you are putting yourself in the place of God, deciding, “If I were God, I would not grant mercy to myself.”
Look at Ezekiel 22; the nation of Israel was in a terrible place. The litany of crimes and abuse that the prophet wrote down makes you want to cover your face and weep. We look at this situation and say, “God, surely this nation is deserving of judgment.”
Even when Israel was in this miserable condition, God was looking for an opportunity to show mercy. “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one” (Ezekiel 22:30). There was nobody who would agree that God could show mercy.
Sometimes, you look in the mirror and think back to what you’ve been doing in the last week or month or year, and you say, “God, surely I’m deserving of your judgment for the things I’ve spoken and for the way I’ve been living.”
You can’t ever earn mercy. It only exists if it’s the only thing left. Before that point, you’re working for something, but it’s a payment, not mercy. Jesus didn’t come for you because you have it all together but because you don’t. He said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Luke 5:32, NKJV). He came for those who have no plans left and who are in the weakest state they’ve ever been in.
When we get to the point where we can’t go forward, God says, “Well, let me do it for you.” Scripture tells us, “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore he says: ‘When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.’” (Ephesians 4:7-8). He took our captivity captive, and he gave us abilities that can only come from God in order to be people that we couldn’t be without God. We are told that we are now righteous through Jesus Christ and given the promise of eternal life in God’s presence.
Carter Conlon joined the pastoral staff of Times Square Church in 1994 and was appointed Senior Pastor in 2001. In May of 2020, he transitioned into a continuing role as General Overseer of Times Square Church, Inc.