Extravagant Mercy

Extravagant Mercy

Read: Mark 2:15-17

“I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Mark 2:17

“Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, should die for me.”

—Charles Wesley

IN WORD What was in the mind of God when He came up with this plan? We will never know the fullness of His thoughts. But consider the oddity of a righteous and holy God who bypasses those who have tried to clean themselves up in order to demonstrate grace to those who haven’t. Consider the mystery of a God who creates a race that He fully knows will collapse into rebellion and depravity, simply so He can redeem that race. Ponder the wisdom behind a creation so thoroughly lost that only those who know their lostness are eligible to be found. Who may know the mind of this God?

We can’t completely understand the reason behind this strange creation. For centuries, perplexed philosophers have contemplated the mystery of evil, and few answers, if any, have satisfied. But imagine the counsel within the Holy Trinity before the foundation of the world. We know God created us that He might be known. But known how? In a perfect world He could have demonstrated His power, His purity, His wisdom, His creativity—all of His attributes. Except one. Mercy. How can a merciful God be known in a perfect world? He can’t. The imperfect had to come.

IN DEED God desires to be known in His mercy. Not just mercy, in fact, but extravagant mercy. Incomprehensibly extravagant mercy. Mind-boggling mercy. The kind of mercy that bridges such a vast expanse that those who see it are compelled to fall on their faces in gratitude and worship. Do you know this mercy? Let’s sit with the tax collectors and sinners at this table and drink it in. Let the Pharisees grumble. We are learning the mind of God.