The Bible leaves us in no doubt that God is awesomely powerful.  It is foolish to fight against Him or to incur His wrath.  God's judgement on sin is properly terrifying, as we can see by the ten plagues that punished the rebellious Egyptian Pharaoh, and other plagues that destroyed rebellious Israelites (Amos 4:10).  But God is merciful (Romans 9:14-15).  That is His nature – patiently waiting and delaying judgement so that He might have mercy on those who repent (2 Peter 3:9).

Jesus came to demonstrate God's merciful heart to sinners; and in His death to enable mercy to flow without injustice (Titus 3:4-7).  He died for all, including the most rebellious (Luke 23:39-43).  But how are people to know that God might be merciful to them - especially if they have not experienced mercy in their upbringing and through their lives?  Indeed, many people whose lives have been full of harsh circumstances think of God as an angry person waiting to beat them ... that could not be further from the truth because He is waiting to be merciful to them (Isaiah 30:18).  How can they dare to trust that God will be merciful, and come to Him for forgiveness?

The answer is found in God's gospel and God’s family.  Firstly, the gospel message is powerful in itself to bring people to repentance and faith (Romans 1:16).  It is the essential message of mercy in which justice is not compromised (1 John 1:9).  Jesus took our sin so that God might be merciful to us and grant us His righteousness (1 Peter 2:24).  Secondly, people need to see believers demonstrating godly mercy in acts of undeserved kindness.  Christian compassion and care show the unloved that it is possible to receive what they do not deserve (grace), and not to receive what they do deserve (mercy).  It is that sort of godly mercy which melts cold hearts and allows hard hearts to start to feel real love; often for the first time.

Showing mercy is one of the primary callings for God's people, but it is only possible because they themselves have first received mercy through the blood of Christ.  However, when you know the joy of sins forgiven, there is an obligation to be merciful to others (Matthew 6:14-15).  If you are out of the habit of showing mercy, you will need to get back into practice!  Ask the Lord to show you people at work or in the community who deserve God's wrath and choose to show them kindness for Christ's sake.  It does not matter how they respond; you are just getting into practice!  But keep on until it becomes a lifestyle habit; and eventually they will ask you how they can find your merciful God.