Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Matthew 5:7 ESV
Mercy is most often defined as withholding punishment from one who deserves it. Yet mercy is so much more than that. Mercy flows out of God’s lovingkindness, His compassion, patience, and unconditional love. Mercy involves a desire to help those who are suffering.
Scripture describes God as merciful: “But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them” (Nehemiah 9:17). Despite their stiff necks and their rebellion, God showed mercy towards the Israelites.
If we are in Christ and Christ is in us, mercy ought to be a core part of our identity. Mind you, God is not asking us to do anything God hasn’t already done for us. God has shown mercy to you and me time and time again. Because God Himself is mercy. It is an integral part of His nature. “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23). Did you catch that? His mercies are new every morning. This very day, you and I were blessed with a whole new supply of mercies. When we awake His mercies are there, waiting for us, like manna in the desert. Not too much, not too little, but precisely what we require to meet each day’s needs.
Prayer: Lord, may the mercy you pour out upon me every day spill over into the lives of those you’ve placed along my path. May I extend the same mercy you have shown this poor sinner. Use me as an instrument of mercy wherever there is hurt, pain, disappointment, sorrow, or hunger. In your name I pray, Amen.
Thought: “Looking at Him and His immense mercy will give you the ability to accept your own (and others’) imperfections and to really let yourself be cared for by the mercy and love of Jesus.” Henri Nouwen