Mercy!

Mercy!

Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

Luke 6:36 KJV

Context and Charge:

At the base of a life of mercy is a heart of love. You need to fully understand what love means in order to fully understand what mercy means. What is love then? The best way to understand love is to look at the perfect example of God Himself. What did he do, what has he done, and what does He plan to do? A look at the verse just before today's extract says: "But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil." How can the world ignore this message?

What more can a man add to what God presents here? He lays down the example, so that I can take strength and encouragement that as I trust and depend on Him, I receive the power and grace to also live and love as He did. I note that God is really not trying to cajole me into doing what He commands, but it is a directive, an instruction for me, if I claim to be His disciple. Yes, He speaks to his disciples here, not to the crowd. There is no obligation on the crowd, but if I claim to be a disciple, it means that I have submitted my heart to Him. That's a heart from which mercy can flow.

Conviction and Conclusion:

With love comes mercy. God expects all who have experienced his love would also be able to show mercy. What makes mercy so important is the fact that it is not deserved or earned. You don't get to plead qualifications or abilities or connections. Mercy is defined as "compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.". Did you see anywhere mercy comes as a result of it being deserved? God could have punished us for our sins, in line with His word, but mercy spoke, and his own Son, Jesus, paid the price. 

Actually, it means that in line with God's word, the price was still paid, but by the person who did not commit the offence. This is the template that has been laid down by God, which He expects us to copy. I am not left alone to fend for myself, clueless about God's demands from me. As He has done, so am I expected to do. The mercy I have received makes it possible for me to extend the same to others. I become God's eyes, hands, lips, feet and heart. As God is, so I am in this world. May I be the mirror through which the grace and mercy of God are revealed. God's time of favour is here.