The Rainbow of Mercy

Luke 18:10-14
Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Let me ask you a very sincere question. Have you honestly, fervently prayed about the condition of the USA before this past ruling of the court system? I mean a daily prayer for our nation and each leader. The kind of prayers where you were constantly seeking God and asking Him for guidance in our leaders? Or did you pray every now and then? When it came across your mind? Or when the decision of our society effected you? If you haven't then you have every right to be upset about what is happening, but you have no right to be mad about it.

I see a sin in our Christians today. We have allowed the sin of the world to anger us and place ourselves above the sinner. Look at our scripture this morning. This Pharisee said he was so much greater than the publican. He boasted of everything he did and was above this lowly sinner. Much like now, many are boasting about how great they have been in their Chrisitan walk. You can almost hear them sing, "How Great I Am".

But the sinful publican couldn't even lift his head. He pleaded for the mercy of God! The most exciting thing that I notice about this scripture is the fact that this man went home justified while the other one went home just the same.

Church, Christians... You'll never be justified bragging on how great you are. You'll never be able to reach that lost and sinful person with your foot on top of their head. Ask God for His true mercy. Maybe, just maybe we should reevaluate the use of this rainbow that we are all seeing. We know that it doesn't stand for fornication, but rather mercy. Let's ask God for just that today... God, will you please be merciful unto us and forgive our sins? Please be merciful unto those who have pushed our country toward this slippery slope of sin. Reach down and pull us from this miry pit Lord God Almighty.