July 31: God’s mercy

But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children.    (Psalm 103:17 — New King James Version)

Mercy is not earned, it’s a gift. When we work forty hours and are paid by the company we work for, our paycheck is not mercy. It’s money we earned. Mercy is when God has the right to punish, or allow us to suffer the consequences of our actions, but instead forgives and shows compassion. Mercy can also be understood to mean “loyal love” — a love that doesn’t give up on us because we are His children, because we call on His name in a world that mostly uses His name as a curse word.

In this passage, the emphasis is not so much on God’s mercy, but on how there is no end to it. The Holy Spirit is not even content to say that it has no end, He says it’s “from everlasting to everlasting”. In other words, there is no way on earth that God’s mercy can be depleted or exhausted. It will continue for much longer than any of us could ever imagine.

This doesn’t mean that we have a blank check to live whatever way we want since God’s mercy is endless, because this verse goes on to explain that this amazing mercy is only granted to one group of people on earth: “those who fear Him”. This fear is not the normal fear of the world, it’s a healthy fear — a vital ingredient to spirituality, something we see in every hero of faith in the Bible. The fear of the Lord is an attitude of respect for God, treating Him as a superior being whose help and love we do not want to lose. This fear does not make us cower before God, but rather bow down and obey. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge according to Proverbs 1; without it we are fools.

The last phrase of this passage takes the already powerful concept of God’s mercy to another level when it says that the righteousness of those who fear Him will be passed on to our “children’s children”. When we make the sacrifice to follow God in reverent fear, choosing  His will over our own, the next two generations will be blessed. Our righteousness, our choice to do what is right in God’s eyes, will be inherited by our children. Just like a generational curse is passed down from one generation to another, our faith and righteousness will be passed down.

What an amazing concept! None of this is easy though. It’s a hard thing to fear God and to live a righteous life, and it’s hard to raise our children to follow Him, especially when they go through rebellious stages. But this promise of God is real and we should stand on it.

1 Peter 2:10 says that we “once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” — Remind yourself of these things throughout the coming days. These ideas have the power to renew and strengthen our inner selves.