Mercy Gives Us Freedom To Love

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“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” -Matthew 5:7

Mercy bestows freedom on the one who receives it, as well as the one who gives it.

When I experience the Lord’s mercy in confession or in a state of surrender after realizing a wrong I committed against another, and ultimately, against God, I feel as though I am being cleansed with a refreshing spring of life-giving water, which I know is the Holy blood and water which flows from Jesus’ pierced side.

I feel humbled at the realization of how unworthy I am of this mercy. How so many sins I have committed in this life are deserving of endless suffering. Of how in the garden, when Jesus was bearing the sins of the whole world, both committed and all those to be committed, how many of those sins were my own. How this saddens me to know I was a part of Jesus’ pain in that moment of time. And with what great love He took on the sins of the world, including my own.

He knew what would happen. He knew I would turn against Him; I would deny Him again and again. He foresaw my actions before they came to be. Yet, even now, as I look upon Him up on the cross He smiles down at me. He did it all for me, and for all of His children. The pain He suffered, He suffered knowing it would give us a chance to spend forever with Him, if we only realize the ultimate act of mercy He gave us and surrender our lives to Him. His greatest act of mercy gave us the freedom to chose Him, surrender ourselves to Him, be forgiven, be cleansed in life-giving water and live in freedom in His Love and His Heart forever. How great is Our God!

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