“…for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful…and repentest thee of the evil.” Jonah 4:2

Have you ever had the impression of being under sentence, a trouble that you suffer because of your own mistakes? Do you feel that an imminent or latent prejudice weighs on you and your loved ones as a result of regrettable imprudence or a poorly inspired choice? Stop worrying and let yourself be visited by the compassionate and merciful God.

Compassion is the inner disposition that makes us sensitive to the misfortunes of others and motivates us to act for its relief. It is this attitude of heart that bows in favor of those who experience a situation of vulnerability and an impulse to help them. Compassion is opposed to hardness of heart that makes us indifferent and quick to condemn.

Compassion is one of the beautiful traits of the God of our salvation. The Messiah who came to reveal the Father to us, showed compassion on a number of occasions. The gospels tell us that Jesus was moved with compassion before a leper throwing himself on his knees, two blind men sitting by the roadside, a crowd with several sick people coming down from the shore, and the list could be prolonged. The rest of each story was a wonderful restoration.

Many of the passages evoking the compassionate God also mention his merciful character. This virtue refers to clemency, the lifting of judgment and the pardon granted to a culprit. Applied to our lives, the immediate effects of God's compassion and mercy are forgiveness and restoration, redemption and covering, provided that we accept to return to Him with a repentant heart.

Concerning repentance, we have often thought that it concerns exclusively the human being and more precisely the lost sinner of the divine path. The good news is that God is repenting too. God does not repent of His gifts and calling (Romans 11:29). But God repents of his judgments and correction (Joel 2: 13, Jonah 4: 2). Hezekiah, David, Jonah, and many other believers have experienced and still experience today the saving repentance of the compassionate and merciful God.

A prayer for this week

Father of compassion and mercy, deliver me from the right correction and just punishment related to my missed choices and my diverted ways. Give me the ability to come after you in faithfulness. Amen