Luke 6: 27-38
Wednesday, 03 April 2024
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” -Luke 6:36
The world that we live in is in dire need of mercy. People have become so judgmental and selfish in their thoughts and action these days that it is hard to find forgiveness and mercy. Having mercy is to be compassionate and forgiving when someone deserves to be punished. God demonstrated His mercy towards David when he sinned against Him. David cried out to God in Psalm 51:1: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to Your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.”
How did God show us Mercy?: Man sinned and the fellowship with God was broken. God in His great mercy sent His Son to the world to be paid as a ransom, so all that believed in Him could be redeemed. The apostle Paul in Titus 3:5 says, "He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy." We have a choice to make. We can either accept this great mercy or we can reject it. May the Holy Spirit open our eyes to see and accept God’s mercy, through His Son Jesus Christ, because if we fail to do so, we choose to bear our own sins and the wrath of God for eternity.
How do we receive HIS Mercy?: Do we think highly of ourselves, is there some sort of hypocrisy in us, that we lift ourselves up in our words and actions? If we let go of our pride and repent, we will receive His mercy. Lamentations 3:19-23 says, “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” May the Holy Spirit reveal the areas of sin in your life that remain in darkness and strengthen you to repent and cry out to Him for His mercy! God’s mercies are never ceasing and they are new every day (cf.Lam.3:22-23).
How do we show others Mercy?: Let us examine ourselves. Are our dealings with others according to the Word of God? We who have received God’s mercy are called to show mercy to others even when they don’t deserve it. Micah 6:8 says, “… And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Now, if we have accepted the mercy of God, through Jesus Christ, we are called to imitate Him. Be merciful, just as He is merciful. Zechariah 7:8-10, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Execute true justice, show mercy and compassion everyone to his brother. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother.” Let us grow in Him, putting on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another and forgiving one another. Pay heed to the warning in the Word of God in James 2:13, “…because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
May the Lord strengthen us to recognize God’s mercy upon each one of us and let us be merciful to others just as God is to us!
A final word of encouragement: “Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” (Jude 1:22)