Mercy

Mercy

A few years ago I had just gotten a new phone. I went outside in my driveway to do a science project, and it shattered. My mom could have made me pay for a new one or use the old, broken phone, but instead she showed me mercy. The next day we went and got my phone replaced ( with a new one that had insurance…). There are so many examples of mercy in our everyday lives. For example, you fail a test, but you get a retake. You deserve to fail, but you end up passing.

All throughout scripture God is showing his people mercy. Jesus sums this up well in the story of the prodigal son, found in Luke 15:11-32. The younger of two sons asks his father for his inheritance and soon leaves. He goes and blows all of his money, leaving him poor and hungry. One day, he is sitting with the pigs, wishing he could eat out of the trough with them. But then he remembers that even his father’s lowliest servants had food to spare. So the son goes back home, prepared to beg for forgiveness. While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and ran to him. The father called for a grandiose feast and opulent clothing to be given, for his son had returned home! The older son was not happy about this. He had been loyal to his father and thought he deserved to have a feast in his honor. When his father heard this, he said, “But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” Luke 15:32

I often see myself in the older brother. I feel entitled, saying that I am better. I say things like, “Well, they had it coming.” Mercy is a difficult trait to display. It is showing grace when punishment is deserved. But God still calls us to mercy, even when it is hard.

The father showed his son great mercy by accepting him into the family. He did not deserve this, but the father gave his love freely. God is the merciful father. He welcomes us back even after we have sinned. He runs to us, picking us up when we fall, always calling us home. Romans 3:23 states that, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We do not meet the standards set for righteousness. We are full of sin, yet God still loves us. We need only accept his son, Jesus Christ.

Everyday we do things that should result in punishment, but everyday God’s mercies are made new (Lamentations 3:22-23). In light of that, we need to live in a way that reflects God’s mercy. We need to turn from our sinful ways and live intentionally, knowing we have been saved through God’s great mercy. Because of the mercy he shows us, we must show mercy to others. It can be so easy to say, “I hope they get what is coming to them,” but God calls us to so much more than that. Be mindful of your mercy. Be mindful of when you are receiving it and when you need to be giving it. We must live in response to the mercy God has showed us by being merciful to others.