April 14, 2012

“Mercy’s Gift”

Scripture:

Matthew 5:7
God blesses those who are merciful,
for they will be shown mercy. (NLT)

Observation:

As God’s created people—His very own possessions—He commands us to be holy as He is holy (Leviticus 19:2); to be other than; to set our lives apart from the ways of this fallen world. But even today, after two thousands years of Christianity, it is still much like it was in the days of Jesus; so many people who lack the gift of mercy. Some people are just plain cruel or unkind but most of us who live in the world get so consumed with our own self-gratification that we either ignore or we simply neglect the needs of others. Mercy is not an inherent human attribute. It is not a characteristic we acquire at birth. The mercy we receive and the mercy we are able to give others comes out of Heaven in the form of a gracious gift to those who are truly seeking God (James 3:17).

Application:

The Christian faith is first and foremost grounded in the unconditional mercy and grace of the only Living God. The mercy and grace of God is what sets the Christian faith apart from all other faith’s and religions. It is only because of God’s mercy and grace that anyone can be saved from the consequences of being controlled by power that Satan has over this dark and self-absorbed world which teaches self-gratification above all else. The beauty of mercy is that it pours out from the heart into action when we begin to understand the extent of the unearned mercy that the Lord has shown us. It is only by knowing mercy’s gift that we can truly sacrifice and begin to meet the needs of those less fortunate than ourselves. We become merciful by taking action and showing others the same kind of mercy and grace that the Lord our God has shown us. As our world draws closer to the end of its allotted time the needs of people everywhere are continuing to grow at a rapid pace. It is impossible for mankind to take care of every basic need for every living person. Many dream of leading the way to utopia, but it will not be realized until Jesus Christ returns to set up His Kingdom on earth for the final thousand years of this age. Fallen mankind is incapable of doing what only God can do. Imperfect man cannot accomplish what only a perfect Creator can. But as Christians—God’s chosen people—we can be merciful to those we can; to help feed and clothe them, and most importantly, point them to the One who showed us what mercy is by paying our debt. As you are merciful, so, too, will God be merciful unto you (James 2:13).

Prayer:

Oh, Lord God, all mercy comes from You and You alone. Without Your mercy we would know no mercy because our human nature is self-focused. It is only because You are merciful that we, too, can follow suit and be merciful as well. You have set the tone for mercy’s gift.

Amen