God Is Rich In?

The other night I had a dream the kind of dream that stays with a person in one’s spirit. In the dream, a woman was crying out, desperately crying out, “Jesus have mercy.” It was a dream I woke up from feeling somewhat startled.

Mercy is the only thing the bible describes God as being rich in. We find in Ephesians 2:4-6:

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,  made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

The context being in regards to salvation from our sins and the judgement because of our sins. Out of God’s love, he made the way for us to be saved through Jesus’s death and resurrection. God’s love for us is God’s motivation for doing so, but notice how God is described as being rich in mercy.

Mercy is something we do not often experience in this life nor grace for that matter. As our culture grows increasingly polarized and hostile, mercy is unfortunately rare these days, at least in the arenas of media, social media etc.

How can I expect others to understand mercy unless I show it? As In interact with refugees, mercy is something I seek to show them by being an understanding friend and teacher. The world is full of hurting people who desire to be shown mercy.

Deuteronomy 10:18 says:

He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.

James 1:27 says:

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Widows and orphans are the epitomes of people in need of mercy. Caring for those who are helpless is on God’s heart. If we desire to follow Jesus, showing mercy to others is a big part of that.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.