In studying First Peter this past week, I had one of those blessed moments that we as Christians can all relate to. I had been studying along, making good progress, when I was hit by three very profound words: “His Great Mercy”. It was one of those, pull over the car type moments, where I just had to sit and think.
The phrase seemed to be so jam packed with God’s story and colored in by my own life and experiences. As an unbeliever ten years ago I was heavily burdened by the reality of my own sin. Of course, I would not have phrased it that way, I would have told you that I was a jerk who enjoyed being a jerk and that now I had a lot of good stuff in my life (a great wife, a wonderful son, and a decent job in the Air Force). However, I was not happy; I wished life would end but I was so scared to die. The persistent guilt of sin was, to say the least, unbearable; I was miserable.
I remember going to work one day and approaching a guy who carried his Bible around and always talked about “the Lord”. I walked up to him and, rather abruptly, called his name and asked him, “Why don’t you ever tell me about God?” He was taken back by this and began to relay to me some of the unkind and frankly blasphemous things I had said to him. John asked me what the problem was. I began to relay to him, in some detail, the great dilemma in my life and how I had tried to fix it by going back to church.
John was so kind, he opened his Bible and began to speak to me from the book of Romans about sin, about the Savior and about mercy. I remember interrupting him several times asking him to repeat himself and staring at the words in his little pocket Bible. I literally could not believe the truth of the gospel.
John quickly diagnosed my problem as sin and my solution as the Savior. I did not know much that day, but I did know that I was a sinner and Jesus was a Savior.
So as I come to a passage like First Peter 1.3 that tells me that it was “according to his great mercy” that he caused me “to be born again” I can’t help but pull over the car and just be overwhelmed by this mercy.
This passage is refreshing because it tells us the origin of the mercy, it is divine. This mercy has its very source in the tender heart of God the Father! I knew that day in October of 2006 that I needed some mercy and that earthly mercy would not do, I needed some help from God.
Further, the mercy in First Peter is said to be “great mercy”. O’ what a great phrase for the sinner’s ringing ear! There is mercy available, it is divine, and it is great!! This is exactly what I need. In that hour I realized that I could have great mercy from God.
As I read and understand the Bible I see that this mercy is great because my sin is great! My sin is aimed at God himself, it is an affront and a rebellion against God, therefore the infraction is no less than great.
Secondly, the mercy is great because I have a great Savior. Jesus Christ is indeed a great Savior. He is, as Spurgeon has said, a better Savior than I think him to be. Indeed this is true!! Jesus Christ is a great Savior for he has conquered, atoned for, and removed all of my great sin.
So again, I am overwhelmed with this reality that I am a great sinner, Jesus is a great Savior, and the Father has poured out great mercy upon a helpless, dead, ungodly, spiritual infidel like Erik Raymond, even causing me to be born again.
In looking for something last night I came across that Bible that my friend John had used in evangelizing me. He gave it to me as I had many questions.
I remember that night coming home and announcing to my, at the time, unbelieving wife, “I have big news!” She came running and said, “What is it!?” no doubt expecting news of a promotion or a transfer to Hawaii or something. To which I said, “Did you know that Jesus died to take away all of my sin?!” She looked somewhat underwhelmed and disappointed at me and said, “Yeah, everyone knows that.”
I did not let her go, I just kept repeating it over and over to her with utter amazement. By God’s grace she is repeating it to this simple confession alongside of me. And passages like First Peter 1.3 are as fresh as that October day over ten years ago. His mercy is great because my sin is great and Jesus Christ, my Savior is indeed great.