I was waiting in line at the store to check out, and the lady ahead of me at the cashier was short by $2.72. I approached her with $3 and said, “I’ve got you covered.” 

This was a frazzled mom fumbling four kiddos and a handful of coupons. Most people would’ve helped her. On the way home, I thought, “What if that wasn’t a mom in crisis but an irritable, impatient executive, treating the cashier rudely and blaming her for his problem?”

I might not have helped, or at least helped but not as cheerfully.

Imagine you are that irritable executive short on cash and patience and someone approaches you, “I’ve got you covered.” Would that change your attitude? 

Jesus teaches us about that kind of mercy, but he does more than that. He teaches the kind of mercy he wants you to show others.

He told a story about a landowner who “went out early in the morning to hire workers” (Matthew 20:1). But he needed more. So throughout the day, “he went out and found still others” (Matthew 20:6). 

God’s mercy explores, goes out to find, seeks. God’s mercy sees “still others.” God’s mercy calls you no matter how ashamed you feel or afraid you’ve become.

God’s mercy sees your struggling friend or straying child no matter how far they’ve gone.

God’s mercy finds people who aren’t good at finding him. He goes out. He finds. God’s mercy has found you.