“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! Matthew 23:37, NKJV
Note before sharing the devotional: right before this verse is the title of the next section (of which this verse is the first) which reads: "Jesus Laments over Jerusalem."
Why Do We Turn Away From God’s Mercy?
As Jesus gazed over Jerusalem, His heart broke. He longed to gather its people like a mother hen gathers her chicks—fragile, helpless, and in desperate need of care. But they didn’t want His care.
It's tragic: the ones who most need mercy reject it. Throughout history, God had sent prophets to guide his people, and they killed them. By the end of Holy Week, they would kill Jesus too—the ultimate prophet and the source of their salvation.
Why do we turn away from God’s mercy? Often, it’s because we struggle to believe it’s for us. In our world, mercy feels foreign—too good to be true. But Jesus doesn’t operate like the world.
In this verse, we see that offering mercy is His deepest longing. The cross reveals just how far He’s willing to go to ensure we get what we don’t deserve—His love, grace, and forgiveness—and don’t get what we do deserve—death.
Jesus is aching to gather us into His care. His mercy is marked and matchless. He isn’t hesitant or reluctant; He’s longing to embrace us.
Let’s believe this mercy is real. Let’s receive it with grateful hearts and give thanks to the One who is quite literally dying to extend it to us.
Note after sharing the devotional: I resonate especially with this line, "In our world, mercy feels foreign—too good to be true." I look at many particularly formative seasons of my life where I experienced extreme trials and to this day still don't understand how having gone through those trials for me (especially at those ages) were any good for me. I can hear the Biblical response now: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; (Proverbs 3:5) but to be honest, I cannot make that leap, not right now. This is where I disagree with people who know their Bibles and perhaps even claim to love God but their response is a severe lack of compassion and willingness to try to understand. Where I stand is that my above response in the last sentence is not a rejection of God's mercy -- because I do know I desire, need, and crave it -- but that for me to not lean on my own understanding means to pretend that all the pain and torture that I went through didn't happen, or that it "wasn't all that bad" (i.e. that somehow I'm misremembering and overexaggerating the impact of what happened). I still have a lot of unresolved pain. I have given it to Jesus, but so much still remains.
Prior to the three years of not-quite-hell of the living situation that I was in, I was in an overall good place regarding all sorts of broken relationships from my past. I had forgiven just about all that I could think of, and in certain situations was able, with God's help, to make peace with those, while completely moving on from the rest. I had a good mindset about it too, recognizing that while there are people that will never understand or accept me, there are others who will (even if that latter group is far fewer in number), and it is those people that are worth it. I no longer needed to give any weight or power to anyone who didn't have my best interests at heart, and for the few cases where I needed to keep them in my life at least somewhat, I could peacefully hold them at arm's length, which would allow me to walk in that forgiveness, while not allowing them to hurt me again.
I must stop and confess something right now: the above two paragraphs were written months ago, while I was still in a place of immense pain. I'm choosing to leave them in this post however to illustrate a point. That's where I was then. I'm in a different place now. What God has done in the meanwhile is restore my relationship with my church, with my pastor, and with several key individuals there. And more significantly, God has provided multiple opportunities for me to be able to separate the pain I incurred from the things taught in church. For too long of a season, I was heavily under the impression that my pain didn't matter, and that I had to "suck it up, no excuses" (regardless of how wrong some of the circumstances really were) and accept that life was going to be what it was, and that it was all up to me to pursue the blessings that God wants me to have. While I have a part to play, of course, so does God. He can do things far greater than I could ever imagine (see Ephesians 3:20). And He is merciful.
The reality is that neither God nor many important people at my church are blind to the hardships of life, even if certain former housemates are (that is, the hardships of others and how their choices can negatively affect others). In the same manner that the Word divides between soul and spirit, as it is written:
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12, NKJV
(By the way, Jesus is the Word and even He admitted that He came to separate people between those who truly loved Him and those who didn't (including many who pretend to but still really don't):)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. John 1:1-3, NKJV
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14, NKJV
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 10:34-39, NKJV
One of the ways the devil deceives people is getting individuals to think that others are truly aligned against them in unrighteous manners. In my case, I was convinced that my church for sure was going to have my former housemates' backs. Now, it is true that they probably couldn't have done much to sway them. But knowing where my pastor and several other church members stand, it's not just that they don't agree with some of the things my former housemates were doing, but also that it wasn't right. I incurred what I incurred, but at least knowing that there is right guilt where I believe it should land helps a lot.
I'm not going to say I was sinless in the whole experience. I reaped my consequences. But at least my wife and I now are developing for ourselves a community where we can make our own decisions and not have them forced upon us like was the case previously.
So, why do I turn away from God's mercy? It boils down to believing lies. To this point, I still haven't figured out how to get out from under it especially when I'm in the thick of it. I learn from experience. Hopefully I'll be able to know the warning signs ahead of time and avoid falling into the same trap yet another time. I just need to remember to take those warning signs seriously, which includes properly understanding what they are and what's going on.
I pray that I never reject God's mercy again. In Jesus's name.
Prayer: God, thank You for Your tender mercy that longs to bring me close. Help me to trust Your love and receive the grace You freely give. Forgive me for rejecting Your care, and teach me to rest in Your embrace. May Your mercy transform my heart to reflect Your compassion. Amen.
