Mercy Me!

I didn' realize it until after it was all over. I had demonstrated mercy. I kind of wish I knew I was doing it, because then it would have been more intentional, it seems, more godly. The event, however, did keep me thinking about this issue of mercy the rest of the week and now through the weekend. What is mercy? In its most simplistic form, mercy is withholding judgment, discipline, punishment, even though it would be "just" and the person is deserving of the judgment. However, the one who holds the authority,and has the power to decide, makes the decision not to hand out the fine, the punishment, the "justice". That is mercy.

Those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ have received the greatest example of mercy there is:
"Ephesians 2:4,5 - "But God, being rich in mercy, becuse of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our sins, made us alive together with Christ -by grace you have been saved."

This is mercy (not receiving what we do deserve - everlasting punishment and separation from God) and grace (receiving what we don't deserve - eternal life with God forever) working together. It is amazing.

And we are instructed, that since we have received this kind of forgiveness, this mercy, that we are, in turn, to show mercy to one another. All of us, regardless of our age or situation in life, have mercy moments, where we are in the position of giving or withholding mercy. Now, there are times when God calls us to discipline and hand out "justice". Certainly, He does the same. But, there are also times, many times, when mercy is the right call, and we have the choice to make.

Parents hold their tender children in their hands, and there are times when they feel like "crushing them". They are bigger, stronger (for now) and have all the authority and power. They could treat them harshly, without mercy, and justify it easily. We as parents have daily opportunitites to demonstrate mercy.

Some of us have that opportunity in other organizations or at work. There are people who answer to us, or "owe" us in some way, and we are put in the position to "hurt" them, to "make them pay", etc. It is a mercy moment.

For me, I realize that as a husband, father and pastor, I have many mercy moments. I wish I could say that I was always merciful; but I certainly fall short, quite often I'm afraid. It is nice, once in a while, to look back and see how God did show mercy through me, even though I fail often. This past week, I could have "crushed" that person by telling him/her what I really thought about what they did. I decided not to. In fact, if you were to ask that person if I was merciful, he/she probably would say it didn't apply. He/she didn't even realize mercy was being offered. That's probably the best way for it to go. I show mercy, but get no credit for it. That is a good thing. If we show mercy in order to look good to others, we might be merciful but we are also proud; and we have our reward - the temporal admiration of others. We need to be merciful because God is merciful to us, and He asks of His followers, that we do the same. That brings blessing that only God can bring; and the rewards become eternal!