How do you best perceive love? If you’ve ever read the book The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman, you’ll think about physical touch, words of affirmation, acts of service, giving, and quality time.
In Ephesians 2, Paul wrote that God revealed His love for us by giving us life when He raised Jesus from the dead, even though we were dead in our sins.
Umm. What?
Okay, let me try this. We see the concept of sin translated three ways in scripture: sin, iniquity, and transgression.
Breaking those down:
Sin = missing the mark
Transgression = rebellion against GodIniquity = perversion of something that God created to be good.
All three set us against God. All three are decisions to wrest control of our lives from God. All three are us shaking our fist at the Creator saying, “You’re not the boss of me!”
All three lead to death. Not so much physical death, we all experience that. God was talking about the death of the relationship with Him. Sin in all its forms separates us from Him, creating a barrier between us.
He loves us, though. Through the barrier, across the chasm, He loves us. Unconditionally. The thing is, He will not demolish that wall or fill in that chasm that we have built with our desire to be god in His place.
He is, however, such mercy that He created a way for that wall to be broken down and that chasm to be bridged. He sent Jesus to die on the cross, then be lifted from death to life.
God’s mercy is so rich, so deep, so amazing, that He would not leave humans floundering in the consequences of their anti-God choices without providing them rescue. He loves us so much that just like He lifted Jesus from the dead, He lifts those who choose to believe in the risen Savior from the dead, too.
Some define mercy as not getting what we deserve. Our choices to miss the mark, rebel against God, or to pervert something God created as good deserve separation from God. It’s what we’ve asked for. But God loves us too much to leave us in that place of separation from Him where we deserve to be. Rather than just shaking His head and saying, that’s what they deserve, let them deal with their choice, He created a way out. He chose to not give us what we deserve if we will simply choose Him.
Our God is Mercy.
