Mercifulness - Attributes of God

One of the most humbling things I have discovered while studying God's attributes is just how little we can comprehend of His nature, and this realization has only deepened my reverence and desire to know Him more. 

When I began studying God's attributes, I learned that theologians have traditionally distinguished between two categories: His communicable and incommunicable attributes.

God's communicable attributes are those qualities that He allows us, as His image-bearers, to reflect in a limited way, such as love, mercy, goodness, and wisdom. We can love because God is love, or exercise wisdom because He is the source of all wisdom. But even in these reflective qualities, there is an important distinction: we possess these attributes imperfectly and dependently, while God possesses them perfectly and eternally. We may demonstrate love, but God is love itself (1 John 4:8). We often gravitate to God’s communicable attributes because they are easier for us to relate to and understand. We know what it means to love, to forgive, to show mercy, or to experience kindness. We delight in knowing God as our loving Father, our Savior, and our Comforter. And rightly so! These truths are precious. But there is another category of attributes that we often overlook, perhaps because they are more difficult to comprehend. God's incommunicable attributes are those that belong uniquely to Him as God, distinguishing Him entirely from His creation. These include attributes such as aseity, immutability, eternality, and impassibility, which begin to reveal something deeper than simply how God relates to us. They tell us something about His very essence—what it means for Him to be God. One of God’s communicable attributes included in the Attributes Collection is Mercifulness.

Mercifulness - Attributes Collection 2026

God’s mercifulness is the tender compassion He shows toward sinful, weak, and undeserving people (which is all mankind). God’s mercy is seen throughout Scripture in the way He responds to sinful, weak, and undeserving people with compassion rather than condemnation. Psalm 103:8 says, “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.” His mercy is most clearly revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. Though our sin deserves judgment, God “does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities” Psalm 103:10. Because of His great love, God made a way for sinners to be reconciled to Him through Jesus. Ephesians 2:4–5 tells us that God, “being rich in mercy,” made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our sins. Titus 3:5 reminds us that He saved us “not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy.”  

God’s mercy is not something we can earn. It flows freely from His loving character. Because of Christ, we may “draw near to the throne of grace” to receive mercy and find grace in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16). Even when we fail, wander, or come before Him with nothing to offer, we can approach Him knowing that He delights to show mercy. Lamentations reminds us that His mercies “are new every morning” and that His faithfulness is great (Lamentations 3:22–23). Psalm 23 tells us that God's goodness and mercy are pursuing us (Hebrew word "radaph" meaning to chase down and run after) all the days of our lives.  

 I find great comfort in knowing that we never exhaust the mercy of God. Each new day brings another opportunity to turn toward Him, receive His forgiveness, and rest in His compassion. Because He is merciful, we can approach Him without fear, confident that His grace is greater than our sin. I hope this truth also brings you comfort today!