“God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
On his way to Jerusalem for the final time, soon to be arrested and crucified, soon to be resurrected, Jesus had to travel through Jericho. He traveled surrounded by a crowd. He was rock star, political figure, and spiritual messiah personified. As he approached town a blind beggar asked what was happening. When he learned that Jesus was passing by he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!!” He shouted loudly, insistently. Hearing him Jesus turned aside and asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” The beggar said, “Lord, I want to SEE!” And Jesus made it so.
It’s a great story and it contains the elements of mercy. The beggar was in no position to help himself. Jesus had both opportunity and desire. And Jesus acted. Mercy is a verb.
Mercy is love in action.
Action flows out of mercy, but mercy flows out of love. The apostle Paul said, “But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.” We cannot escape God’s love. Even when we enter heaven, where we will be without sin or need, his love will be no less. There can be no true mercy apart from love.
Mercy is the partner of grace.
Mercy and all its related terms have to do with pain or distress…with the consequences of sin and brokenness. Grace deals with sin itself. Mercy deals with the symptom, grace with the cause. Mercy is Jesus restoring the blind beggar, grace is Jesus on the cross reconciling all persons to God through his complete and unmitigated love. Mercy offers relief from the punishment; grace offers pardon from the crime. Mercy eliminates pain, grace cures the disease. In relation to salvation mercy says, ‘no hell,’ whereas grace says, ‘heaven!’
Choose to be a person of mercy.
Every one of us must deal with the slights of others, with the anger that comes from misunderstandings or from a lack of appreciation. Every one of us must choose how we will deal with the fires of resentment and anger and we are left with a decision: “Do I put the fire out or heat it up? Do I get over it or get even? Do I release it or rehearse it?” Resentment is when you allow what is eating you to eat you up. Resentment is the deliberate decision to nurse an offense until it becomes a grudge. Grudge is such an interesting word. Its very sound betrays its meaning. Say it with me slowly…Grrrrruuuuudge. It starts with a growl, just like a testy dog. Being near a resentful person and petting a growling dog are equally enjoyable. Don’t you just love being next to someone who is nursing a grudge? They’re so optimistic, so full of hope! They’re just bubbling with life.
If you turn your hurts into hates, you have to ask yourself, “Is it working?” Has your resentment brought you any relief, any peace? Let’s say you get even. Let’s say you get him back. Let’s say she gets what she deserves. Let’s say your fantasy of getting even runs its full course and you return all the pain you’ve been given with interest. Will you feel better? Will you then be free?
No. You can do better. You can choose to be a person of mercy. Here is Romans 12:17-21. “Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, ‘I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it,’ says the Lord. Instead, do what the Scriptures say: ‘If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink, and they will be ashamed of what they have done to you.’ Don’t let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.”
You can choose to be merciful in response to someone else’s meanness or foolishness or evil. You can put that mercy in action by doing good. That is mercy on a personal level.
Pray. Ask God to make you into a person of mercy. Ask him for clear and unambiguous opportunities that you can invest yourself in. Ask him for a change of heart so that you are eager to act with mercy.
And be merciful where it is hardest first. You may have a person or persons in your life who are the objects of your anger or fear or resentment. Choose mercy. You may have a relationship or non-relationship in you life that has been a simmering pot of darkness or hatred or revenge for a long time. Choose mercy. Resentment is the cocaine of emotions. It gives us incredible energy. But, like the drug, it demands increasingly larger and more frequent dosages. There is a dangerous point at which anger ceases to be an emotion and becomes a driving force. Hatred is the rabid dog that turns on its owner. Revenge is the raging fire that consumes the arsonist. Bitterness is the trap that snares the hunter.
And mercy is the choice that can set them all free.
Prayer: “Merciful Father, You have said that the mercy you give us will reflect the mercy we give to others. Help us to be persons of mercy. Help us to leave the powerful emotions of anger and resentment to you. They are too strong for us and we don’t know how to deal with them. Fill us with mercy and forgiveness. Help us to live at peace with those around us wherever possible, and to follow you in all our ways. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”