Giving Mercy Might be the Best Gift We can Give
Maybe you were born way later than the vinyl records era when our music came from a spinning disk with a needle that sat on the grooves of the record. It played the music of our day. But if the record was scratched, it would loop endlessly over the same lyric. So, that just may be me and you might think: “Sheesh, you sound like a broken record!” Not to disappoint, here I go again — another song lyric was in my heart yesterday: “Mercy there was great and grace was free. Pardon there was multiplied to me. There my burdened soul found liberty, at Calvary.”
Mercy was God’s word of the day for me yesterday. Apparently I need more of it — as if giving His Son to die for me at Calvary wasn’t enough. But, it seems He has an abundant supply — especially for those times when I need to offer more mercy to others and He turns around and gives me even more. I was reminded of how much more merciful I need to be to others as I confessed in our Zoom LIfe Group meeting the night before. I let the quirks of others get to me. I know that mercy means being patient with people’s quirks. But, how can we be more patient?
Imagine if God let our quirks get to HIm! Lord, have mercy! Then this scripture, mercifully, comes from Heaven Central: “The wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy” (James 3:17 NLT). Lord, have mercy on me to have more mercy!
Mercy is like a diamond; it is multi-faceted. I sincerely want to be an agent of mercy to those around me. I moved from a community of 3,000 homes and even more individuals and personalities in each of those homes. It was easy to avoid some cranky folks in a community that large. But, now I live in an apartment home community and there are way more opportunities for “close” encounters with others. That’s why mercy, God’s mercy to me, and my mercy to others is so important.
Being merciful means going the second mile. It means helping anyone around us who is hurting or needs something. We can’t love our neighbors as ourselves without being merciful. Proverbs 3:27 says, “Whenever you possibly can, do good to those who need it”. God watches what we do and He watches our attitude about it, too. Romans 12:8 says “When you show mercy, do it cheerfully.”
Mercy means giving people a second chance. When somebody hurts us, we normally want to get even or write that person off. But scripture says, “Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don’t yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:31-32).
Mercy means doing good to those who hurt us. This explanation isn’t easy. We want the last word. But, mercy is giving people what they need, not what they deserve. Why should we do it? Because that’s what God does with us: “Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because God is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:35-36)
Mercy means building bridges of love to those who need it most. I’m working on this one — especially those who rub me the wrong way and I don’t want to be around them — never mind building a bridge to love them. Building a bridge is a work-out and an endurance test — especially for those who are opposite from my faith and belief system. This kind of mercy is what I call premeditated mercy. It is intentionally building friendships with people who need love the most — and more importantly, God’s mercy shown to them through us. They don’t have friends and aren’t accepted by others. Then, once again I remember that Jesus hung out with the tax collectors and other unpopular people, He said, “‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners” (Matthew 9:13).
We’re going to make a lot of mistakes between now and when we get to heaven, so we’re going to need God’s mercy. But we can’t receive what we are unwilling to give. James 2:13 says, “You must show mercy to others, or God will not show mercy to you when He judges you. But the person who shows mercy can stand without fear at the judgment”.
Lord, please have mercy on us as we purpose to have and show your mercy to others…..and even to ourselves.