Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” - Matthew 5:7

Today, we continue our discussion on Mercy, and the need to show mercy. My attention drifted to the chilling and fearful observations made by James on the subject of mercy. James says, “For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment”. (James 2:13) This means that mercy overrides judgment! - But only for those who deserve to have mercy, because they had in turn, at a point showed mercy to others. I do not know about you, but I am quite terrified by the words of James above. The summary of it all is that, Judgment will be without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Therefore beloved, starting from today, imbibe a new culture. A culture of showing mercy to others, when they least deserve your mercy – for such is what Jesus Christ expects of us believers.
Further on this point, Jesus says; “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” This declaration ought to be weighty enough, and must not be emptied of its impact. All of us have received God’s mercy, and it is only proper to return mercy to others. But what we see these days is quite different from what is expected of us. For instance, the best way to show that we appreciate God’s mercy upon our lives is not by mere attendance at church service, but by being regularly merciful to others in a practical and direct way.

This means that mercy is not just you desiring for other people to do good for others – your desire that others could receive mercy without more is not enough. Instead, mercy is when we seek and act upon opportunities to be mercy givers just like the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. Perhaps, this is one reason the prophet Micah declared to the people: “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8). One vital question which till begs for an answer is, “Do you want to get what you deserve for how you have treated others? If others have been merciful to you in spite of your errors, why then do you shy away from retuning mercy equally to them? Better still, how ready are you in getting others out of difficult situations? Some of us are not ready to stick out our neck to save others in difficult situations because we fear a backlash. Some would not show mercy because they think the person involved should not have put themselves in the mess in the first place! While we ourselves cannot show mercy to others, we however pray to God to have mercy on us and not give us the punishment we deserve. This is the time to change! Let the vital spirit of mercy run through your veins always.