God Be Merciful to Me a Sinner

God Be Merciful to Me a Sinner

Not to bring up unpleasant subjects, but have you looked in a mirror lately? I have, and the 72-year-old man looking back at me is disgusting. Yet it is to the mirror I must go if I am to at all gain a perspective of myself.

I wish I could say I remember a life of doing my duty before God—and to be fair, I had some of those experiences. But I remember a life where I frequently made poor choices and chose the road widely traveled. As I grow older, I do find myself thinking more about the past—both the good times and the bad times.

The problem with my memory, and perhaps yours, is that I remember the bad times as being not quite so bad, and I tend to remember the good times with a bit of editorial embellishment. Until I have a good hard look in that mirror. That is, I look deeper into things of the past and I realize once more, that I really am a sinner in deep need of grace.

But I remind myself, I have all the grace I need, for when I came to the recognition of Christ dying for me, all of my many shortcomings, including the ones I feebly see, are covered in his death on the cross. When he died, he died for all my sins, many of which I had not even yet countenanced.

Look at yourself squarely. Take that mirror and have a good reflection. I am convinced that those of us who look in the mirror are more grateful for the grace of God. Remember the story of Jesus, when he told about the two men. One was nicely clothed and the other was just a poorly dressed man. The rich man prayed before God, “God, I thank you that I am not as the poor man.” The poor man simply prayed, “God, be merciful to me a sinner. The poor man went away, forgiven by God, but the rich man seemed to be irretrievably lost in self-righteousness.

The mirror reflects the truth of my life, and is absolutely discouraging, but for the cross. I know in whom I have believed, and on that day, I shall stand in the righteousness of Christ. How about you? Can you take a courageous look into the mirror? But don’t stop there, look to the Christ who has given us such wonderful grace and forgiveness. God, be merciful to me, a sinner.