What Mercy Requires

Would you consider yourself merciful? It is likely at some point in your life, you have been wronged, whether great or small, in some capacity it has likely happened to you. What was your response? Maybe it was one of anger, sorrow, or even retaliation. We feel our response is justifiable, but is it really? Jesus here challenges us with a concept that is against our natural tendency to withhold mercy, instead calling us to be merciful. Mercy isn’t just an emotion, but is an active response to something or someone. Our quest to learn how to be merciful will be a long and difficult journey as long as we look at our own situations, our own pain and sense of being wronged. But if we take a wider look at the reality of mercy, we can look at the sins that are listed in Proverbs 6:16-19, sins that are considered an abomination to God. If these sins are listed as an abomination to God, we all need a great deal of mercy, assuming we are truly honest to ourselves.

As we know, we as sinners deserve eternal punishment, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5, English Standard Version). If we have been forgiven so great a debt, how much more should we forgive others? How could we ever withhold mercy on this earth, when God showed us an eternal, never ending mercy?

Respond with any questions, prayer requests, or encouragement!

In Christ, 

Josh Hernandez