Sermons — Page 5

You can be merciful because your Father in heaven has been merciful to you. He has forgiven you of all your sins for the sake of Jesus. He himself replaces your hypocrite heart that boasts in fake mercy with a true heart that loves as Christ has loved you. Instead of trying to make other people righteous, concern yourself with following Jesus, the one man who isn’t blind, the perfect teacher, the only one who can remove the beam from your eye.

What matters to Jesus is not the numbers. It’s the individual. To him you are not just one of the crowd. You are a dear child of God, paid for by his own blood. Learn from Jesus to love your neighbor like that, like the shepherd who seeks after his sheep or the woman who searches for her coin. Love them the way your Savior does, the Savior who died for you. You were lost, and you have been found. Your Lord loved you too much to lose you. And when you reach heaven you won’t be given a number or told to take a ticket. You will be welcomed in as his own dear child. There is rejoicing in heaven over you.