His Mercy

Luke 1:46-47,54
“And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy.”

The is Mary’s song when she went and visited Elizabeth, in Luke 1. This portion of her song speaks that God has not forgotten His people. Mary sings, “He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy.”

Mary sees this mercy as an answer for her people, the Jews. She will see 34 years later, after Jesus’s death and resurrection, it is actually mercy to the world, Jews and Gentiles.

The Christmas message here in this story, is God’s mercy. In the Bible, mercy is extended to an offender in the form of forgiveness, or to the suffering in the form of healing or other comfort. In any case, mercy can be characterized as compassionate treatment of those in distress. Whether the distress is caused by the guilt or penalty of sin or by a debilitating physical condition, mercy is offered because of God’s great love for mankind.
We don’t often see mercy in the Christmas story, but it makes perfect sense. Mankind was on a free fall, trying to live up to the law was next to impossible. God had promised the Messiah in the Old Testament scriptures, but Israel just wanted a Savior to release them from oppression.

Jesus is so much more than a Deliverer, He is that as well, but He is also God’s mercy for all mankind. God, coming to earth as a baby, growing up and living just like we have, is nothing short of genius, miraculous, above and beyond. In His great mercy, He came to earth to lead us out of darkness, He would show us the way and give us something that we certainly did not deserve, mercy.

The Christmas story is in a large part about His mercy, freely given to us, even though we earned judgment, instead He gave us mercy.

Prayer:
Father, I am not worthy in myself to deserve You and Your Son, and your Holy Spirit. But Your love came 2000 years ago, all wrapped up in a beautiful package in the form of a baby. That baby was God in flesh, the agent of redemption and mercy. I don’t deserved that mercy, but You gave it to me anyway. What an amazing Father You are. Your mercy is astounding!