How seriously do you take an oath? Do you honor a contract you have signed? Are willing to show mercy if your child is disobedient? If your child was in trouble, would you come to their rescue? Have you considered how God has answered these questions?
We may take an oath very seriously. The oath I took each time I enlisted or re-enlisted in the Marine Corps was an oath I took very seriously. Taking an oath as a witness in a court should be taken very seriously. Simply being honest and telling the truth should be taken seriously.
When we sign a contract, whether to buy a house, buy a car, or for a job, we should honor it. Most of us are willing to show our children mercy, but we may not be so quick to show mercy to an outsider. Not showing mercy is how arguments and fights begin. That doesn’t mean we never discipline our children or don’t hold people accountable. But mercy can be an effective way warding off an argument.
What one of us would not come to our child’s rescue if they were in need? We are willing to put aside our wants, desires, and sometimes our needs to help our children. We do not want to see our children suffer and will do almost anything to keep them from suffering.
God does all of this better than any of us can. His mercy is shed on us daily. Our faults are not turned a blind eye to, rather they are noted, and God works to correct them as long as we are willing. He honors his covenant that was made through his Son. He keeps his promises. He has rescued us from the punishment we deserve.
God did all of this so that we might worship him in holiness. Through Jesus Christ, we are made holy and can appear before a holy God. We are righteous because of God’s mercy and grace through Jesus. Rather than taking advantage of that, we should honor God in return through obedience and submission.
I pray we all recognize God’s mercy in our lives. I pray we know that God keeps his promises. I pray each one of us knows we are holy and righteous before God because of Jesus Christ. See God’s mercy. Know he honors his covenant. Trust God keeps his promises. Know you have been rescued. You are holy and righteous before God. Honor him in obedience and submission.
Luke 1:72-75
Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and has remembered his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness
before him all our days.
Marty Pressey 