No Expiration Date

I was thinking this morning about expiration dates. You know you have a coupon for your favorite store and when you finally get there you find that it expired three days earlier. Or what about the expiration date on the milk jug? You know you can push that one for a few weeks before the milk turns bad but once it’s sour, it’s a done deal.

There are expiration dates on warranties. I’ve heard folks say, “oh sure, it’s going to break down now, the warranty is up”. Some electronics stores make good money selling extended warranties because they know once the product breaks it’s really going to cost you to repair it.

But this morning I’ve giving thanks for no expiration dates. There is no expiration date on God’s mercy!

Whew!

I don’t mess up as much as I once did but still there are screw ups, failures, and down right disobedience. And it is so comforting to know that His mercy endures forever.

“Lord, you are my God, and I thank you.
    My God, I praise you!
²⁹ Praise the Lord because he is good.
    His faithful love will last forever.” Psalm 118:28-29 ERV

These are the last two verses of this chapter, 29 verses in this chapter and 5 times we find the phrase “because he is kind and always merciful” or as it says in the King James version “his mercy endureth forever”.

No expiration date.

Mercy, the act of forgiving or restoring when we’ve done nothing to deserve it. God has every right to judge us harshly for the things we’ve done and He doesn’t! That’s a lot to be thankful for.

I hope you will read the rest of this chapter in its’ entirety. It’s a wonderful chapter of praise but before I close this morning I will add these few verses from the beginning of the chapter.

“You people worshiping the Lord, say it:
    ‘His faithful love will last forever!’

⁵ I was in trouble, so I called to the Lord for help.
    The Lord answered and made me free.
⁶ The Lord is with me, so I will not be afraid.
    No one on earth can do anything to harm me.
⁷ The Lord is my helper.
    I will see my enemies defeated.
⁸ It is better to trust in the Lord
    than to trust in people.
⁹ It is better to trust in the Lord
    than to trust in great leaders. Psalms 118:4-9 CEV

I’ll finish with these thoughts on no expiration. God’s word has no expiration. He compares it to honey, which also has no expiration date.

“His teachings are worth more than pure gold. They are sweeter than the best honey dripping from the honeycomb.” Psalm 19:10 ERV

“ The whole world, earth and sky, will be destroyed, but my words will last forever.” Matthew 24:35 ERV

Our God and Father is faithful to a thousand generations, His love is everlasting and His mercy endures forever.

I’m thankful that God’s love is unending. There is no expiration date!