More Than A Nice Guy

Mark 10:47  “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”


This phrase composes most of the Jesus prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on me a sinner." Many things brought me to the point of really feeling God's mercy. I think I had a head start because I knew I was a sinner. I had no problem with that concept at all. I will admit that I was a comparative shopper. I would look for bad people that I was convinced were worse than me and then I might feel better for a little while. Mercy, however, was temporary at best because it had nothing to do with God. I came to see that I needed to view all of us in comparison to Jesus, and we all fell far short of meeting that standard, even the best of us. He is the measure but also the remedy. 


The second point was this Son of God piece. I had approached Jesus as a good guy and a great example to be followed. I could not get to the God thing. After some time I could see that those who did really get the God thing were in a better place than me. I guess I would say I kind of began to see and believe who Jesus was and is. I half believed and I wanted to believe but I had trouble making that transition. Even as I met him in a "I believe help my unbelief" kind of prayer he moved within me to convince me he was indeed God. My eyes were openned. Like blind Bartimaeus I could see clearly. I want to tell you how everything looked different to me. My family, my job, my church, my friends, and most especially my God all fit into a new and positive world view because I understood who God is. All creation began to create a new picture of God's loving and merciful hand. That Jesus prayer continues to be a cornerstone of my relationship with God. I continue to need my Lord jesus Christ who is the Son of God and who mercifully continues to take away my sins so I can be free and grow more fully into the image of the very one who has shown me great mercy. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner!!"