Mercy
Lam 3:22-23 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” One of the characteristics of the Christian is Mercy! Mercy is vital in our walk with Christ! Jesus is very clear in order to receive mercy we must show mercy. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)
In our fall blogs we have been talking about practical steps to becoming a merciful and a tender hearted person; the last two discussions centered around two topics …
#1. Merciful People have God’s Perspective of People!
#2. Merciful People are Sensitive People!
This time I want us to focus on …# 3 Merciful People are Responsive People!
We need to understand that Mercy is not simply a warm feeling toward someone; mercy is something we do! It is true we must have perspective, sensitivity and there must also be a response. Mercy without response is not mercy at all!
What we are talking about is seeing as God sees others, feeling as others feel, and responding by doing something about it – simply loving as Christ loved us!
Ephesians 4:32 exhorts us by saying “Be ye kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you.” In other words we are to treat others as Christ has treated us. How has Christ treated us?
Titus 3:4-5 "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”
Ephesians 2:4-5 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions, it is by grace you have been saved."
- Christ has always had time for us!
- Christ has always listened to us!
- Christ forgiveness was made possible because of His Love!
If we would learn to show mercy, it will be because we learn to love as Christ loves. Just think of what would happen if we were to do this … the results would be extraordinary. People would be wondering what happened to us; our spouses and children would be overjoyed. The superficial relationships we have would be deepened … Churches would be filled as people discovered that church is a place where they can find love and forgiveness and genuine acceptance.
Conclusion
Mercy is meeting people’s needs! It’s not simply a warm feeling toward someone – Mercy is something we do!
Jesus said in Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” Again He exhorts us in Luke 6:36 “Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.”
Let’s determine to be a merciful people! Join me next month for more practical ways to live out your commitment to Christ.
Be Merciful Please!
Blessings
Pastor Moral