Hosanna Restoration Church

Judgment or mercy; that is the question that followers of Jesus Christ need to settle in our hearts. Which one do we really prefer? Well concerning ourselves, that is an easy one to answer; we want mercy! Unfortunately we run into a little problem when it comes to others. Do we want our nation judged or changed? Do we want people saved or dumped?

As I read the Bible, I can find no evidence that God prefers judgment over mercy. He makes what is right very clear. He makes what leads to judgment very clear. But He makes it even clearer that His choice is mercy. With all of that, I hear a lot of people cautioning us about too much mercy. I hear people wanting to emphasized judgment and destruction. As a pastor I don’t want to mess this up, so I began to ponder what the Lord prefers. Well, the Lord prefers truth.

There is nowhere that He tells us to love judgment, so I am glad about that. There are plenty of places to prove that He loves mercy and I am glad about that most of the time. Hey I have to be honest. There are times when it takes a lot conversation with myself and with the Lord for mercy to win in my mind, but I will not quit working for it.

I see places in the Bible where terribly wicked people repent, and God forgives them. Ahab did terrible things, but when the prophet told him the hammer was going to fall on him, he humbled himself before God and God forgave him. Paul was killing Christians and God forgave him. I was a terrible sinner and God forgave me. So were you. Of course you may not have been that terrible so you may not need to be so merciful! Wrong!

So, what does the Lord require? He has shown us what is good. Jesus Christ came into the world to make springs in our deserts. He showed us what was good. He went around doing good. He said that the merciful would be blessed. Do you want to be blessed? Would you rather stand before the Lord accused of being too merciful or too judgmental?

He wants us to do justly. In other words, we each need to do what we are to do and we need to do it God’s way. We are to discern by the wisdom and guidance that He gives us and do the right thing. In all of it, we are to remember to love mercy. Remember to love the mercy you have been shown. This will stir up a thankful heart. This makes us feel good, and when we feel good it is easier to do good.

Of course, the key element is to walk humbly before God. He should have the final say. Our first thought or action may head in the wrong direction, but if we tune into the Holy Spirit we can turn that around as we humble ourselves before God.