When We’re Humbled by God’s Mercy

Everyone felt it – especially the woman standing half-dressed before the condemning crowd. Her eyes frantically scanned every angle of the temple court, seeking an escape.

Even a passerby could sense the crowd’s impatience and eagerness to carry out “righteous judgment” by stoning the woman caught in adultery. She stood alone – her posture bent in shame, her eyes brimming with tears. She braced herself for the first stone.

But then …

“I don’t condemn you. Go and sin no more,” Jesus said after sending her accusers away to consider their own sinful history (see John 8:1–11).

Scripture doesn’t tell us what the woman did after her encounter with Jesus, but we can imagine. Although I’ve never committed adultery, I, too, have experienced God’s great mercy. Because of this, I love Him deeply.

Still, I fall short of this week’s verse:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deuteronomy 6:5 ESV)

I love the challenge this verse stirs within me. What would it be like to love God with every emotion, every thought and every ounce of my strength?

I’m confident that the woman mentioned earlier had no trouble loving God wholeheartedly. What if we recall times when we, too, have been humbled by God’s kindness? Would these memories stir within us a desire to love Him with our entire being?

Would you consider joining me in meditating on (and perhaps memorizing) Deuteronomy 6:5?

• How would it change our lives, our choices – even the way we respond to stress?
• How would applying Deuteronomy 6:5 change our hearts, our relationships?
• How would loving God with everything we’ve got change our prayer life?

Let’s ask God to help us love Him with our whole being because of Who He is (Almighty God) – and because of all the times His love gives rise to mercy.

This will not only bring our Father joy but also change us in ways we can only imagine. If we loved God with even a fraction of our entire being, we’d experience such an awareness of God’s love that it would shatter all shame from our past.

And this, dear reader, will give our Father even greater joy.

What about you?

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this post. (Your comment might also benefit others.)

• What would happen in your life if you loved God with this much intensity?
• What would change in your heart?
• How would it change the way you respond to stress?
• How would it change your prayer life? Your relationships?

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