Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man: A Daily Devotional

by Walter A. Henrichsen

FEBRUARY 12 Day 43 Mercy and Truth “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” Psalm 85:10 The Psalmist anticipates the cross with these words. Only in the death of Jesus Christ do we find a perfect blend of mercy and truth. You cannot have truth without justice and you cannot have justice without judgment. The violation of God’s command demands justice and that justice was satisfied by Christ’s death on the cross. Christ’s death allowed God to be merciful toward the sinner without doing violence to His truth. John the Apostle opens his gospel acknowledging that Jesus was “full of grace and truth.”1 Just as His death made it possible for mercy and truth to meet, so His life was characterized by a blend of grace and truth. And so God deals with His people today. Truth sets you free. Grace and mercy shifts the blame for your sin from you to Jesus. You need both. If God dealt with you in truth, you could not handle it. You pray, “Lord, show me the wickedness of my heart.” God answers, “I cannot show you such a thing, for the revelation of your heart would destroy you. I will show you only what you are able to endure.” In this we see the mercy of God. As you relate to others you must maintain a balance between mercy and truth. Men used to say to me, “Be honest, tell me what you really think.” So I would tell them the truth and they became offended. It was easy for me to blame them for asking since they really didn’t want the truth, until...