“No one is out of God’s reach. If His mercy was offered to the crowd who murdered Jesus, it’s available to everyone”. (Author unknown)

What does it feel like to be hit with a ton of bricks? I certainly hope I never find out the answer to that question, but if I were to wager a guess I’d have to surmise that the above statement gives a good definition to the query. 

To understand God’s immeasurable depth of love, we need to also study and comprehend the amount of mercy He carries as one of His attributes. Our source of information regarding God’s attributes can be found in much of the Old Testament books where countless times He spared life, even though there are also accounts of people being dealt consequences and punishment. Take for example, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah as recorded in Genesis 19. 

I like how mercy is defined as “compassionate treatment, especially for those under one’s power”. Certainly, when we become followers of Christ it means that we have surrendered our lives to His authority, the supremacy of scripture, laying aside selfish desires to replace them with becoming more Christ-like as we journey with Him establishing and building our faith. 

By dissecting this sentence, we can determine 1) no one is incapable of God’s love 2) mercy is for everyone, regardless of behavior. I know–because I’ve been at fault–too often we–in our own flesh and sinful ways–exclude or put labels on “who” is deserving of God’s mercy, even to the point of judging a person’s relationship with Christ in regard to their salvation. When I’ve fallen trap to this line of thinking I quickly take myself back to a teaching I heard from Dr. David Jeremiah. 1) God is the only one who can judge a person’s heart for He knows our innermost being and 2) I can judge a person based on their actions and words, for both are visible to me. Calling these two options a plumbline for measuring my thoughts, putting them into practice has saved me a lot from inner turmoil or operating in a critical spirit.

Admittedly, it’s hard for me to fathom that some of history’s worst people could be in heaven. In my own life, witnessing by reading about Ted Bundy and later Jeffrey Dahlmer’s evil actions caused me to lay down judgement on their souls. Yet, before both men died there is credible evidence of each repenting from their sins, being assured of forgiveness, and counted as ones who would enjoy the rewards of eternal life. How then, do I have any right to place “qualifications” on who does or does not receive God’s mercy? God does not place any qualifiers on humans either in order to receive salvation, other than “believing in Jesus, placing faith in Him”. Paul, in his letter to Romans wrote, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”. In Paul’s words we find additional simply worded truths–declaring and believing delivers being saved from eternal damnation! No one but God can do that. 

You and I don’t have the right or position to determine who God gets to love or save. What we do have is the example of a loving savior who taught us to sow and reap the fruit of His spirit which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control”.  (Galations 5)

I don’t know what heaven looks like but this is one thing I do know. Among the crowds gathered to worship the Lamb will be those who needed God’s mercy in greater capacity than me, maybe you, and for that I’m eternally grateful for every redeemed soul, regardless of previous sins while alive in the body. 

Furthermore, I imagine the people who made up the angry mob calling for Jesus’ death. In the years following His death and resurrection which became the foundation of the gospel message preached by His disciples….with Peter’s powerful sermon recorded by Luke in the Book of Acts…maybe, just maybe, some of those angry mobsters were in the crowd that day listening to Peter….and only God knows how many hearts and lives were redeemed because of “mercy”.