Have Mercy on Us
The tax collector . . . beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ Luke 18:13
When we were children, my siblings and I were taught to apologize when we did something wrong. My mom would often ask, “Have you learned something from this?” “Yeah,” came one reply, “Not to get caught!”
As God’s people we need to repent of our sins. Repentance includes turning away from sin and turning to God for forgiveness. It is a change of heart and mind that brings us closer to God. It is motivated by love for God and a sincere desire to obey His commandments.
The truth is that every one of us is a sinner like the tax collector in Jesus’ parable—a sinner in need of God’s forgiveness and grace. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:9).
The good news is that God is good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon Him (Psalm 86:5). Anyone who comes to the Lord, confessing their sins and trusting Jesus as Savior, is forgiven by God. And The Holy Spirit is at work in two ways (at least) when it comes to sin. The spirit is at work transforming us to be more and more like Jesus Christ. He also convicts us of our sin. He brings our sins to our attention, so we can repent of them. Conviction also comes before the sin happens. The Holy Spirit will tap on our hearts when temptation comes. And The Spirit will give us power to not give into temptation.
When we sin, we can experience God’s mercy and grace as we repent and feel the blessing of His forgiveness. Like David, of the Old Testament, may we ask God to search our hearts and reveal any sin issues we need to bring to our loving Father, so that our triune God may create in us a clean heart.
Lord, thank You for the assurance that we are saved by Your grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. Help us to experience the freedom that comes with repentance and forgiveness. Amen.