Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He instructs sinners in the way.

       He leads the humble in justice, and He teaches the humble His way (Psalm 25:8-9).

 

It takes humility to know God's ways. The Lord teaches the humble His ways because one must be willing to learn in order to be taught, and as we covered previously, one definition of humility could be teachableness. To be open and able to learn is one of the most valuable characteristics that anyone can have.

 

In this text, right after we are told that the Lord will teach the humble His way, the next verse gives us one of the most basic insights into the Lord's ways:

 

       All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies (Psalm 25:10).

 

If we will stay on the Lord's paths, we can know that those paths will be lovingkindness and truth. If you are ever in doubt as to the way of the Lord, then choose the way of mercy and truth. There are limits to the Lord's mercy, which if reached will result in judgment. However, throughout the Scriptures we see that the Lord is usually far more merciful than His people tend to be. Therefore, we have this warning and this hope from James 2:13:

 

       For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

 

We are also told in Galatians 6:7, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." Therefore if we want to receive mercy, we should learn to sow mercy every opportunity that we get.

 

Just as the President gives out pardons every New Year, the Lord will freely pass out pardons to all who ask, and to all who trust in His mercy because of the cross. We can start all over again, erasing every failure and mistake. That is one of the greatest benefits of Christianity that has no match in any other religion or philosophy on earth. However, we are also instructed that if we are walking in His ways we will also freely pass out pardons to those whom we might be able to hold something against.

 

It takes humility to ask for forgiveness, which is to acknowledge our sin. It takes the knowledge of the Lord's ways, and a union of our hearts with them, to forgive others. However, if we are going to remain on the path of life, these are fundamental. So let us give mercy just as it has been freely given to us. One of the greatest freedoms we can ever have is when we know that we have been forgiven our sins. The second greatest freedom that we can ever know is when we forgive others.

 

The paths of the Lord are always ascending, carrying us higher and higher into the Spirit. Because "all of the paths of the Lord are loving-kindness and truth" (see Psalm 25:10), we will ascend in life as we grow in lovingkindness and truth. Let us look today for the opportunities that we have to show these, and to grow in each. We are the ones who will benefit, who will soar higher, and find even more freedom.