What does it mean for God to be ‘rich in mercy’? In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, immediately after he has explained the depth and consequence of their sin, he writes in chapter 2:
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.
Mercy is showing kindness, compassion and forgiveness to someone, when instead they deserve punishment. Paul tells us that God is rich in mercy. Normally if we describe someone as rich, we mean they have a lot of money. So, if God is rich in mercy, that would mean that he has a lot of it.
But that’s not how I would describe myself. When I’ve been hurt or wronged, I tend not to be rich in mercy. I might give a little bit of mercy, if I think it’s deserved. Sadly I tend towards being rich in judgement of others. But that is not how God moves towards us. When God is sinned against, offended or hurt, that is when he is rich in mercy.
God’s mercy is like the ocean; it is never ending. Imagine if I went to Cronulla beach with a cup and I went down to the water’s edge to get a cup of ocean. How many times could I come back for more ocean? I would never be able to get to the end of it. There will never be a point when I go to Cronulla and find there is no ocean left. I will keep coming back and there will be more ocean, because I’m rich in ocean!
That’s God’s mercy to you! It is endless, because he is rich in mercy. You can keep coming back again and again, with bigger and bigger buckets because you will never come to the end of God’s mercy. No matter how royally you have messed up. No matter how big the sin. No matter how often the sin. You might have been keeping God at a distance for years. No matter how long, no matter how deep, no matter how wide your mess is. God will never run out of mercy for you, because God is rich in mercy.