Greetings Christ Church Missoula!
Grace to you and Peace!
“Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” Proverbs 3:3
Today we are reminded by this verse to embrace both mercy and truth. The challenge is that in our fallen human condition, we tend to emphasize one over the other and even sometimes to the exclusion of the other. Folks that make mercy the priority often belittle the importance of truth. There are whole churches, even denominations that seem to have fallen into this trap. The Gospel is all mercy and therefore truth is not as important. But the opposite is also true. Folks that make truth the priority often do so at the expense of mercy. Again, this is a trap whole churches and even denominations have fallen into.
The truth is that we cannot emphasize the importance of truth or the importance of mercy too much. They are both top priorities. Of course, to find the answer to this dilemma of ours we need go no further than Jesus Himself. He who was abundant in mercy, healing, and having compassion on the people, was also the one who declared strong condemnation of the Pharisees, calling them hypocrites. He who let the little children come unto Him also said that the judgment coming on this generation would be worse than the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah.
If we are to follow Jesus’ example in our lives, we must be devoted to having our hearts keep the commandments of God (Proverbs 3:1). We must not support ourselves by our own understanding but submit to and trust in God (Proverbs 3:5). Lastly, we should treat both mercy and truth as a prized necklace, a treasure that we love and want everyone to see. Then we will find favor and high esteem with God and with man. Proverbs 3:4
His mercy endures forever!
Pastor Flynn