Love and Mercy
“Love is not a feeling or a sentiment, Love is an act of the will.” The way we understand love affects the way we understand mercy. In culture, we understand “love” as “how the other person makes us feel good”. If so, our love wavers as our feelings change. Sometimes people feel that the relationship should end when the romance is gone. But love is not a feeling! Love is a conscious action, something that you do. If we know this, then love becomes a commitment and will not be rocked by emotions and feelings. Read the marriage vows; “I promise to be true to you, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honour you all the days of my life.” It is impossible to rely on good feelings for the rest of your life, especially when you know that there will be rough times. And what is mercy, but to continue loving someone even through desolation. What is mercy, but love, turned towards sin.
