Cry Mercy!

Merciful God, who sent Your messengers the prophets, to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation:  Give us grace to hear and heed their warnings and forsake our sins that we may greet you with joy. 



I witnessed the sheer terror in these two young ladies who, on this certain day were not looking forward to their father’s return home.  They had broken the rules and mom told them, “We will wait to deal with this when your father comes home.”  What was on most days a celebration marked by the grabbing of dad’s legs and being thrown up into the air, was today dread.  What made such a difference?  Sin.  It is ugly in how it reshapes our bodies and contaminates our relationships.  It must be dealt with or we never look forward to the coming of our Father.



The ancient fathers taught us to cry out to God, “Merciful God.”  It is God’s mercy that teaches us about the rich benefit of repentance.  It is God’s mercy that enables our repentance (Romans 2:4).  His tolerance and great patience was not to suggest sin did not matter.  His mercy is an expression of His commitment that He has another solution to care for our sin-stained hearts.  It’s called grace.   The gift of our Savior enables us to once again look forward to His coming. 



I realized the other day that if we view God like my little friends then Advent will bring no joy only sorrow.  If we are afraid of the retribution, His promised coming will touch us like the news of a paddle being raised to punish us.  But we cry out:   “Merciful God, teach us of the joy of repentance, the privilege of aligning our hearts and minds to You.  Grant to us today the ability to hear Your voice and to heed Your invitation so that through Your grace we may once again find delight in our relationship with You.”



Cry Mercy!