"The Lord is good to everyone.
He showers compassion on all his creation."
"the discretionary power of a judge to pardon someone or to mitigate punishment"
That tells me mercy is undeserved. God grants us undeserved mercy...and I'm glad He's better at handing it out than I am.
Last night at church, I had the opportunity to be merciful to a child who has refused to come inside to practice for our Christmas program, but now that we are onstage, he wants to participate. He has trouble controlling himself, so will need an adult to accompany him on stage.
I was down with that idea at the beginning of rehearsals...a month ago...but now, selfishly, I want things to go well...and I don't necessarily want to deal with the unexpected.
And things didn't go as bad as I thought they would...not NEARLY as bad.
Thankfully God isn't reluctant to use mercy over His undeserving creation.
May I learn to act in the same way.
My (now grown up and wonderful) younger sibling typically needed an extra set of hands for such events as Church plays during his childhood. Thank you for showing this child mercy, and letting him have a positive memory of Christmas. It probably means more to him than you'll know.