One of the greatest themes in scripture is that of God’s mercy. In Romans 3:23 we read that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. And Romans 6:23 tells us that “the wages of sin is death.” Our sins have earned for us the death that the apostle John speaks about in Revelation 21:8, it is what we deserve. However, in Titus 3:4-5 we read, “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit”. In Psalms 103:8-10 the psalmist wrote “The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities.” We are totally dependent on God’s mercy, without it we would have no hope of eternal life. That being the case, is there anything which might cause God to withhold His mercy from us? In James 2:13 we see that “For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy.” In the context of James chapter two we see that James is referring to being merciful to our fellow man. If we show no mercy in our dealings with others God will show no mercy to us. James doesn’t mean that we should overlook sin, but he does mean that we should have a forgiving spirit - that we should give the benefit of the doubt and be helpful and loving toward others. “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14-15). We are absolutely dependent on God’s mercy for our salvation, so let us never do anything to have that mercy taken away. (Matthew 18:21-35).