An elderly lady got an artist to paint her portrait, but when he finished and revealed it to her, she looked at it carefully and said to him, ‘This painting does not do me justice, so I cannot pay you for doing it.’ The artist then replied, ‘I captured the real you, like you asked me to; you don’t need justice; you need mercy.’
In all of our lives, we need mercy. You may not see the need for it today because you may not have hurt someone, but if you have not before, you will before you die, no matter how hard you try not to; it’s just human nature. Each of us has done things that are wrong and has sinned against God, needing God’s mercy, which is not receiving just recompense or handed justice for the wrongs that we have done.
Please don’t believe and say, ‘All I need is grace.’ Remember that because of the mercy of God towards us, He sent Jesus to bring us grace so that we all can have grace and mercy. Grace and mercy kissed each other at the cross and have walked together since then. Above everything else in life, you and I, we all need God’s mercy and His grace to have our sins forgiven and a newness of life. Yes, you do too, for just like me, you were born in sin and shaped in iniquity.
This is today’s crosspoint. Have a blessed day and a wonderful weekend!
Accompanying Bible Verses:
- Micah 6:8 (NIV): “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
- Romans 3:23-24 (NIV): “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
- Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV): “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”
