Deuteronomy 4:31
Jesus told the story of a man who went to the temple and prayed, "God be merciful to me a sinner." Jesus taught us that man went to his house justified. God heard his prayer and gave him exactly what he asked for, that is mercy. God gave him mercy because God is the merciful God. He always has been, and He always will be. "For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting" (Psalm 100:5).
God changes not. In the Old Testament days He was merciful. Likewise, under the New Testament He is merciful. Mercy is an everlasting attribute of our God. That does not mean that God allows sin to go unpunished. He is likewise righteous and holy. If we stubbornly refuse His mercy, then we receive His just judgment. He prefers mercy over judgment, but He gives us the choice.
A little boy who had attended Sunday School, asked his mother, "What is mercy?" His mother said, "Son, you know when you do wrong you deserve a spanking. Mercy means that we don't get the spanking that we deserve. God forgives us. His Son Jesus took our spanking for us." The boy said, "I feel sorry for Jesus, if He took every one's spanking." She responded, "Son, He did that for us because He loves us that much." Your God is a merciful God. It's proven forever at the cross of Jesus.
