Continuing from his book, “The Arms of His Love” Stephen A Cramer wrote:
Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, The Great I AM, whose arm of mercy hath atoned for your sins. (Doctrine and Covenants 29:1.)
One of the overwhelming motivations to come to Christ is the love He offers with His arms of mercy extended towards us. “Behold, he sendeth an invitation to all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: repent and I will receive you.” Alma 5:33.” The scriptures contain over six hundred over six hundred such discussions of the Savior’s mercy. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.” (Psalm 103:8.) For he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness.” (Joel 2:13.) The question before us is not whether Christ is merciful, but whether we can bring ourselves to accept the mercy He offers.
Most of us think of mercy in terms of God accepting our repentance. “For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn his face away from you if ye return unto him.” (2 Chronicles 2:9.) “And he is a merciful Being . . . to those who will repent and believe on his name.” (Alma 26:35.)
We also connect Christ’s mercy with the forgiveness that follows acceptance of our repentance. “To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him.” (Daniel 9:9.) Sometimes we fail to appreciate the mercy which follows our repentance and makes forgiveness possible because, in a sense, we feel we have earned the blessing. Perhaps it is easier to appreciate the magnitude of Christ’s mercy when we see it extended to those who are not worthy and really don’t deserve such kind treatment. According to King Benjamin, this includes all of us. He said, “I would that ye should remember and always retain in remembrance the greatness of God, and your own nothingness,” and “if ye should serve with all your souls, yet you would be unprofitable servants. (Mosiah 4:11; 2:21.) Jacob, the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, did not presume upon his important patriarchal status when he prayed, but said, I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies . . .which thou hast shewed unto thy servant.” (Genesis 32:10.) It is humbling to pause and ask ourselves; “Just how many of the blessings I receive do I really deserve?”
The prophet Nehemiah was fascinated by the Lord’s unwavering mercy in spite of Israel’s deliberate shunning of His efforts to love them and to bless them. Speaking to the Lord, Nehemiah marveled how they “refused to obey, neither were they mindful of the wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks . . . but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.” (Nehemiah 9:17.) Continuing to marvel, Nehemiah praised the Lord because time after time when they did evil before thee . . . yet when they returned and cried unto thee, thou heardest them and many times from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies . . . for thou art a gracious and merciful God.” (Nehemiah 9:28, 31.)
The Lord has given us assurance that he is just as merciful to us in our weaknesses and our wavering as he was to ancient Israel. “Verily, I say unto you, notwithstanding their sins, my bowels are filled with compassion towards them I will not utterly cast them off; and in the day of wrath, I will not utterly cast them off; and in the day or wrath I will remember mercy.” (Doctrine & Covenants 101:9.) And, some of you are guilty before me, but I will be merciful unto your weakness.” (Doctrine & Covenants 38:14.) These verses are not cited to encourage laziness or mediocrity in our obedience, but to stress how eager the Lord is to help us as we move toward the perfection that will someday void the need for mercy.
Too often, in well-meaning attempts at encouraging obedience, we stress the punishments that will eventually come to sinners, and we understate the extent of Christ’s mercy. (Stephen A. Cramer, “The Arms of His Love”.) p. 89-90 (continued. . .)
