Jesus is the ultimate Man of Mercy.
I want the whole world to know Him, and love Him. The Lord had mercy on me 20 years ago when He healed me of terminal cancer. We as human beings have the responsibility under God to love mercy, to be merciful. "YOU MORTALS, THE LORD HAS TOLD YOU WHAT IS GOOD. THIS IS WHAT THE LORD REQUIRES FROM YOU: TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT, TO LOVE MERCY, AND TO LIVE HUMBLY WITH YOUR GOD." (Micah 6:8 GWT) Through the Prophet Micah God is calling all of humanity to mercy. God calls all of humanity to show mercy to our fellow man. Jesus parable of the good Samaritan illustrates this. Jesus tells us all to go and show mercy. This is the second greatest commandment. The first is to love God.
What is mercy? The Hebrew word for mercy is 'checed' (kheh'-sed). (Micah 6:8) 'Chesed' means kindness, beauty. (KJV Lexicon) Isn't it something that God considers mercy beautiful? Some Bible translations render 'checed' as 'kindness' (ESV, NASB); 'faithfulness' (HCSB); 'gracious love' (ISV); 'to be faithful' (NET); 'goodness' (Darby), 'be compassionate and loyal' (Message).
Mercy is an attribute of God. Mankind is made in the image of God. Natural human affection shows mercy to others and to ourselves. Some of us are born more merciful than others. It is something we all need inside of us to even greater degrees. I ask Jesus often to make me more merciful. When I was a caregiver for senior ladies I operated under a supernatural empowerment of mercy Experiencing and showing God's mercy to my ladies came easy most of the time through the power of the Holy Spirit.
How much more shall we, the Body of Christ, be merciful? I believe one of the major criteria of judgement at the bema seat of Christ will be mercy; specifically the mercy we have shown to others. Jesus says, "BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL, FOR THEY SHALL RECEIVE MERCY." (Mt. 5:7) Our Lord commands us to be merciful. "BE MERCIFUL, JUST AS YOUR FATHER IS MERCIFUL. (Luke 6:36. (NIV) "YOU MUST BE COMPASSIONATE, JUST AS YOUR FATHER IS COMPASSIONATE." (NLT Lk. 6:36)
Three times in the Gospel of Matthew the Messiah tells the religious crowd to learn mercy. They didn't listen to Him. Jesus is the God of all mercy. He said, ".. NOW GO AND LEARN THE MEANING OF THIS SCRIPTURE: I WANT YOU TO SHOW MERCY, NOT OFFER SACRIFICES." (Mt. 9:13b NLT) "I DESIRE MERCY, NOT SACRIFICE." (Mt. 12:7b) We see the supreme importance the God of the Bible places on mercy. "TO LOVE HIM (GOD) WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND ALL YOUR UNDERSTANDING AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE ONE'S NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF" (Mk. 12:33 ISV) is the ultimate!
Our Savior got very angry at the religious leaders for their callous disregard for the well being of others. Their lack of mercy displeased God. Their hardness of heart saddened and grieved Jesus greatly. (Mark 3:5, Luke 13:15, Luke 6:11). The very ones YHVH had called to care for His people didn't. I get angry when I see lack of mercy and injustice. Forgiveness is the clarion call of Gospels. We must forgive others, there is no other option. Our Father in heaven has forgiven us through the Lamb of God; Jesus blood shed on the cross for you and I. Since we have received such great mercy and forgiveness, we can show others mercy and forgiveness.
Do we want to please our Lord Jesus? Do we want our Master to be proud of us at His bema seat? Let us learn to be even more merciful. The rewards will be beyond human imagination. Dear Father, make us even more merciful. In Jesus Name we pray. Amen.
"ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE GUARD YOUR HEART, BECAUSE FROM IT FLOW THE SPRINGS OF LIFE." (Prov. 4:23 ISV)
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