Father of mercies
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
We read in the New Testament of the Father of mercies, the Father of glory and the Father of lights. God is the source of all things. We see this in creation. Our tiny planet has everything provided to sustain the most beautiful and complex variety of life. And we know the Creator as the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ: “I ascend unto my Father and your Father” (John 20:17, AV). In this relationship of love we learn of the Father’s mercy, glory and light through Christ.
Ephesians 2 tells us, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.” The most profound demonstration of God’s mercy was to take us from being “without Christ … having no hope and without God in the world” to a place of nearness to Him through the sacrifice of Christ. The richness of His mercy was the expression of His great love. Grace reaches out to meet all our need through the richness of the mercy of God. Grace then lifts us up to a place before God we could never have imagined. God has not simply saved us; He has made us His children through His love, grace and mercy in Christ.
We continue to experience the mercy of God throughout our lives:
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me,
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
Forever (Psalm 23:6).
This is a daily experience:
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
Great is your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-24).
The Lord’s Parable of the Good Samaritan illustrates the mercies of God. As a picture of Christ, the Samaritan came to where we were in all our need, richly pouring out oil and wine, carrying us to a place of safety and protection, and taking care of us. These are all pictures of Christ’s great stoop into this world to become our Saviour and in mercy bring His healing love, His Holy Spirit and His constant care. This stream of mercy has its source in the heart of God and continues throughout our lives.
Our appreciation of the mercies of God, demonstrated in our salvation, is the spiritual impetus for us to present ourselves as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1). Receiving mercy makes us merciful. We witness to the Father of mercies by showing mercy, “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another …” (Colossians 3:12-14). This is why Paul writes, “that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God”. Through the Father of mercies we know the God of all comfort: the Father of mercies is known by and seen through His children.
