His Great Mercy

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us. -- Titus 3:5

I love that verse. It's one of my son, Andrew's, favorites. The words roll off the lips smoothly and refresh me a bit. Once again I'm reminded that my salvation doesn't depend on me. Thank you, Lord!!!

I learned something interesting about God's mercy last night. Our weekly study group is working its way through Luke. The last time we studied Luke with a small group, it took almost 2 years to get through the first 11 chapters. Our group consisted of 5 couples and about 22 kids. Obviously some weeks we didn't study the Word much! Enter God's mercy, LoL!

So, last night we arrived at Luke 1:78 and ran into a word we didn't know. Doug's Bible is an NASV side-by-side (English and Spanish). Lupita's was "Dios Habla Hoy". I had my "Nueva Biblia de los Hispanos". It seemed like every Bible in the room used a different word to describe God's mercy.

Here's the verse in the King James version:
Luke 1:78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high has visited us.

Tender mercy. I like that. It brings to mind a man holding a wounded bird or something like that.

Lupita's version used the phrase "great mercy". That's good, too. It gives a different mental picture. Great mercy is what I need every day when I fall on my face, blow up at my husband, snap at the kids. I'm so glad that God's mercy is great towards me!

But my Spanish version uses the word entrañable to describe God's mercy. I didn't recognize that word, and the way Esteban described it made me curious about its use in this verse. This word has a deeper meaning which will forever change how I view God's mercy.

The adjective entrañable (en trahn YAH bleh) is translated as intimate, close, beloved, or dear.

The verb entrañar means to bury deep, to carry within or to become deeply attached.

The noun entraña means entrails. Guts. The deepest, most profound place.

Profound mercy.
Deepest mercy.
Mercy from the most intimate part of God.

God's profound mercy through which Jesus (the dayspring from on high) came to us. For what purpose?

Luke 1:77
...to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of sin.

The mercy which pours out from the innermost being of God is poured over us so that we can be forgiven for our sins.

God's profound mercy sent Jesus to die so that my willful disobedience could be forgiven.

Deep. Profound. The guts of it. Wow.

Today I want to be reminded of God's deep mercy for me. Maybe it will help me to be more merciful to those around me?

Praying you're blessed today!