Our Heavenly Father Offers Us Mercy

“… since in being a Father He bears with us, however grievous our offences may be, if we return to Him as the prodigal son did.  He has to pardon and to comfort us in our afflictions; He has to support us, as such a Father should do, who must of course be far better than all earthly fathers, since there can be nothing in Him but every perfection; and after all this, it is Your wish to make us partners and co-heirs with You!” — St. Teresa of Avila (1515-82), The Way of Perfection: Reflection on the Lord’s Prayer

It is impossible to receive the love that God wants us to experience without understanding the mercy and love of the Father for us. God loves us and has forgiven us unconditionally. We must claim forgiveness by confessing our sins through Reconciliation and surrendering to God’s love. Our Father loves us passionately, completely and without compromise!  We cannot earn it and it is not determined by our behavior. It is there for the taking but we must want it.

Many people who have an issue with their human father can struggle believing that God the Father can love us. We see our brokenness and our many sins and we often view God in the same way as an unforgiving father. Many times our biological fathers can be distant, abusive and can even abandon their children. There are millions of women who are raising their children alone. If you experienced a challenging situation with your father, know there is hope in discovering the unconditional love and mercy of your heavenly Father. 

Our Father in heaven is pure agape love and is filled with mercy, as depicted by the prodigal son’s father. When he saw his son in the distance he went running toward him and put a ring on his finger, giving him a huge celebration. Most of us don’t think it is possible to be loved in this way. It is impossible for us to receive love unless we make the decision to open our hearts to God. It is essential to surrender to God, which allows our heart to receive God’s love without anything blocking it. We learn how to love only by opening our heart to God’s love.  

“He who does not love does not know God; for God is love.” (1 John 4:8)

It is extremely important to examine the 15th chapter of John to learn how the Father and the Son are together in love for us.  

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love.” (John 15:7-9)

When we are one with the Father, we have heaven on earth, “on earth as it is in heaven.”

The Father’s love is the personification of mercy.  Let’s examine seven aspects of mercy and the Father’s love.

1.  The love and mercy gift of salvation. The Father wants to grant us eternal salvation.  

“… who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Meditate on how much God loves you individually and how He wants to give us eternal life. The devil is a liar and wants us to believe that God loves us conditionally. Everything changes for us emotionally when we receive that we are loved unconditionally by our Father in heaven and receive His mercy and forgiveness.

2.  The love and mercy of the Father allow us to be made in the image of God. Those who have children often enjoy looking at the features and characteristics of their offspring and see themselves. How much more does the Father enjoy us to be in His image? He created us from the beginning and knew us.  

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.” (Jeremiah 1:5)

We are made for God, to love Him and know Him. Saint Teresa of Calcutta wrote, “We are created to love and be loved.” Think of what St. Augustine wrote, “You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.” How do we rest in the love and mercy of the Father? By wanting it so badly we can taste it. By praying for it and receiving the grace that we have been given through our baptism.

3.  The Father in His love and mercy wants to give us all the blessings in heaven. Why? Because we are precious in the eyes of the Father.  

“Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you.” (Isaiah 43:4)

We see clearly how much the Father gives us love and mercy in Ephesians 1:3-7, 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.”

When I discovered these words in my heart, everything changed. l had surrendered my life to God and went into my living room and opened up the Bible to these words in Ephesians 1. I kept thinking, “Why doesn’t everyone know these truths?” I told everyone I saw how much Jesus loved them. Many people thought I had freaked out and gone crazy. Everything changes when we truly discover our purpose on earth; which is to discover God and tell everyone how much God loves them. That is truly showing God’s mercy.

4.  The Father’s love and mercy heals us. We are loved in a way that few can comprehend even a little. The truth is that through His grace, we are healed spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. How is this possible?  

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

By the wounds of Jesus we are healed. The greatest mercy we will ever or could ever receive. Because of His mercy, we can “lay hands on the sick and they will recover.”

We have tremendous power that the Father wanted us to have when we were created.

5.  The Father hears us and answers our prayers.  

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

We need to discover the mercy of God and ask Him to answer our prayers.  

“Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)

We must recognize how much God loves us and how He wants to be with you. When we pray together it has great power, especially when we are persistent.   

“Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:19-20)

God is so merciful that He wants to hear our prayers and answer them when they are in His will and will be to our benefit.  

6.  We receive infinite strength from our Father in heaven.  

“I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

All things! We must ask for faith and believe we have received it. In our deepest trials and suffering the Father will get us through it, with supernatural strength, love and mercy! In this way, we have our needs met.  

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

Please spend time meditating on this important Scripture verse. Every need will be fulfilled according to the riches and glory of God. Only God truly knows our true needs.  Let us trust in Him and not be discouraged when what we think is our need is actually just a desire or want. It is not important in the big picture or for our spiritual growth.

7.  The Father gives us a mansion in heaven. Forever and ever we will have a mansion in heaven because of the love and mercy of the Father.  

“Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:1-2)

Just think about how much the Father loves us. We need never fear because the Father has prepared an eternity of joy. We need to prioritize and focus on building treasure in heaven. We will experience something so wonderful we cannot even remotely comprehend it.  

“But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him …’” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

My brothers and sisters, God is love! Through that love we have infinite love and mercy for all of eternity. Surrender to the mercy and love of the Father! You will never regret it!