Image and Mercy (Lent 28, 2023)

I am uncomfortable with some of modern Christian music expressing the idea that God is running after us because He didn’t want heaven without us…as if there’s something special about the sought-after ones, something special about this flesh. I know they mean well, it’s just theologically hard for me to swallow.

Here’s why: What if some of the sought-after don’t want to be found. Does God appear like a jilted lover? Unrequited love to the nth degree? Wouldn’t that also mean God pursues someone with perfect love, yet He fails because some reject His overtures? God failing? That simply cannot be.

I get the “hound of heaven” philosophy which I’ve argued the Image of God means that God will go to extreme lengths to save any Image-bearers who repent and believe. That’s the “hound of heaven” in mercy that I can accept.

Why would the Image of God be the focus of that mercy? Because there is something reckless and wasteful about creating people in His Image and then throwing that Image away because it’s broken. Disposable reflection of His divinity isn’t God’s way.

If—as I argue–it’s about God’s Image and we all bear God’s Image (and if God isn’t picking favorites by saving only some of His Image-bearers) then why isn’t everyone saved?

Good question with a good answer:
God’s holiness is the context of His mercy.

Focus for Lent: God has mercy on whom He will, and it’s entirely connected to His holiness. (See Romans 9:14-18 specifically verses 15-16, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”)

Questions for further thought:

Why might some who struggle against chronic sin in an area be saved, but others who sin in the same way without ever struggling or repenting aren’t?

Consider the Great Flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, Nineveh, and the End of the Age–they stand as case examples that God will destroy wickedness, even if those individuals have the Image of God. What difference does it make that sin is a deliberate affront rather than a struggle in the case examples above?

Living in the wholeness, not the brokenness, we see the Image of God in us will always reject and therefore struggle against sin. Those who live in the brokenness, dwell there, rest there, luxuriate there will always choose to extinguish the fire of their consciences willingly to continue live in darkness. That cannot stand because of God’s holiness. Is there mercy in darkness?

Prayer: Lord God, Judge of the universe, please forgive me for ways I’ve lived in the brokenness, in the sin life that You so abhor! Help me to struggle to live a righteous life, a life of faith! In my weakness, I acknowledge that I do not have the strength at times or the presence of mind to reject the impulses that pop up when I am unprepared. Help me to communicate the holiness of Your mercy to those who are living in chronic unrepented sin. Help me to always have a mind prepared to live by faith in Your Son Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior. Amen.

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If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2023 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014.
Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations. We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17.
ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ. It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.
Last year’s devotionals, Revelation in 40 offered 40 vignettes, scenes, concepts, and thoughts to inspire us to read the Book of Revelation as it is written and to go deeper. They are archived beginning March 2, 2022.