ARE YOU MERCIFUL?

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Matthew 5:7

Mercy is one of the responses of God out of His love to His creation. In reference to us, Ephesians 2:4 says: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love…”  Mercy flows from the love of God. God doesn’t count His riches in money. He counts His riches in mercy. Mercy is not softness. It’s not the man of whom it is said, “He wouldn’t kill a snake in a nursery.” Mercy is not sentiment. It is not just shedding tears in pity, but then you don’t do anything. It is an element of love which motivates one to action. It originates from the love of God. It is another of the communicable attributes of God which humans possess because we are made in the image of God; marred though our image is.

“It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed” (Lam. 3:22 KJV). In other words, He withholds our deserved punishment. “His compassions never fail. They are new every morning.” Each morning greets you with the mercy of God. God doesn’t have to take your life for it to end. He only has to stop giving it, and He gives it in mercy. Have you pondered why God did not immediately destroy Adam and Eve when they sinned? It is because in His mercy, i.e., the withholding of what they deserved, He spared them for salvation. He did that for you also. He gives us grace, not what we deserve. When some believers are asked, “How are you?” They respond, “Better than I deserve.” Is that true of you? Try it next time someone asks, “How are you?” What if you are not merciful? Check out what Jesus says about that in Matthew 6:14-15. Forgiveness is a form of showing mercy.

Ike Graham