Saturday, October 16, 2010

Mercy and truth

The more I read the Bible in different translations, the more it makes sense to me. Different verses come together. Aha - this means this. And those words are the same as these other words, just a different twist.

For example in Proverbs 16:6

Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for
(NIV)

In King James the words love and faithfulness are translated mercy and truth. Because it is the same thing!


The truth of God is not hard or harmful. Just because he knows the truth about us does not mean we need to fear him because he will reveal who we really are, the sin in our lives etc. That is completely not according to his character, although some people who don't know the Father heart of God can use him as a threat: "You better behave because God sees you (and he is going to punish you if you don't behave)".

Jesus, who perfectly reflects the character of the Father, is full of grace and truth.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14
This word "truth" has more to do with faithfulness, that he is true to us. He is faithful even when we are faithless (2 Tim 2:13).


I actually learned today that there is a special word in Hebrew that describes all the love, favor, goodness, kindness, mercy, and compassion He shows us in the blood covenant He made with us. The word in Hebrew is chesed. Wow! I want to dig deeper into this. God is soooo good!