Merciful to Me

I don't know about you but I love music...good Christian music.  I love to hear songs about grace and mercy.  I love the old songs of the faith, you know, hymns.  Recently, I sang in church and I chose the following song to sing:
                                               "Merciful To Me"
                                        written by Rodney Griffin
Verse 1:  The angry men were closing in; rocks were in their hands,
              A decent payment for her sin - now her life must end;
              But Jesus said, "Let he who is innocent cast your stone today,"
              I wasn't there to see her face, but I can almost hear her say,

Chorus:    Merciful to me, when I deserved to die
               Merciful to me, my soul He brought new life;
               Nothing could I bring my debt to satisfy,
               Jesus was merciful; merciful to me.

Verse 2:  Satan's men were closing in, I knew what was in store,
               A decent payment for my sin, eternal fire and more;
               But Jesus said, "I have an announcement I'd like to make today,
               You see I have the scars to prove that I've taken this one's place."

Chorus:    Merciful to me, when I deserved to die
               Merciful to me, my soul He brought new life;
               Nothing could I bring my debt to satisfy,
               Jesus was merciful; merciful to me.

As I was finishing the second verse, I began to get a bit choked up....just thinking about the words and what Jesus had done for me, well, it was very overwhelming.  I tried not to be shaken, but the words to the song and the thought of my Saviour giving His life for mine was too powerful and needless to say, I cried my way through the rest of the song.  Embarrassing, right?  Yes, some, but honestly, not really.  I am glad to know that my heart has not grown cold to the mercy that Christ has shown me.  I pray that I NEVER get over what He has done for me.
Go back and read the accounts recorded in the Bible of the crucifixion of Jesus and you will be reminded of just how merciful He was to you and me. For those who have trusted Christ, we will never suffer the torments of Hell...the penalty deserved for our sin.  The mercy of God overwhelms me and I hope that you, too, will remember the mercy that has been shown to you. 
The Bible is full of verses about the mercy of God:
Lamentations 3:22 "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not."
Psalm 100:5 "For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."
Psalms 103:8 "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy."
Psalms 136:4 "To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth forever." (In fact, this whole chapter is full of verses on His mercy.)
Luke 6:36 "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful."
The lessons I took from this were:
1. I need to never forget the mercy Christ has extended toward me and
2. I need to show this same mercy to others around me.
The definition of mercy as obtained from the dictionary is: compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power; compassion; pity or benevolence
The story found in John 8 is a wonderful example of the mercy of Christ. I can see it now the men in the Bible pointing their accusing fingers at this woman taken in adultery. Jesus bends over writing in the dirt. The pharisees  and scribes are still questioning Jesus trying to get him to say this woman should be stoned.  Jesus stands and responds in verse 7 with, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."  Jesus bends over to write again and those in the crowd begin to disperse the Bible says, "being convicted by their own conscience" in verse 9.  What an amazing story! We need to all remember that we are sinners and we need to remember to extend mercy to people when needed.  I am not saying to sweep sin under a rug and just let it have it's way, but that we are to love the sinner and be merciful helping to restore them.  Can you almost hear her say?
                                        Merciful to me, when I deserved to die
                                        Merciful to me, my soul He brought new life
                                        Nothing could I bring, my debt to satisfy
                                        Jesus was merciful, merciful to me.
So, I ask you the same question I asked myself, "How's your mercy: do you remember the mercy Christ showed to you and are you showing it to others"?  

From the Heart,
Robyn