The Gift of Mercy

Everyone loves to be given a little mercy, but how many of us are willing to give it in return.  This is unusual for me, but I am going to use a sport illustration (thanks to my boys and for their love of the games).  Brooks Conrad recently had three errors during a Braves' game which caused them to loose to the Giants in game 3 of the National League Division Series.  After his mistake, lack of mercy permeated all of Atlanta.  The criticism, harshness and cruelty from Braves fans was unforgiving to say the least.  Conrad was quoted as saying, "I wish I could just dig a hole and go sleep in there."  No mercy was shown to this young man.  Ever been there?

What is mercy?  Mercy is "compassionate or kindly forbearance (abstaining from the enforcement of a right) shown toward an offender".  How much mercy do we give others?  How much mercy do we see being given in our day to day?  Let's look at the mercy of God, which we should try to model.  Psalm 103:8  "God is merciful to us."  2 Corinthians 1:3  "He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us."  Psalm 86:15  "But you, O Lord, are a merciful and gracious God, slow to get angry, full of unfailing love and truth."  Exodus 34:6  "And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth."  Ephesians 2: 4-7  "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus."  Titus 3:5  "he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy."  Oh yes, He is a God of GREAT MERCY!  I am thankful for it.  I am so undeserving of the repetitive mercy and love He has shown me through all the bad choices and mistakes of my life. 

Does God expect us to be merciful?  How do we react to others' mistakes?  I'm reminded of the wonderful story in John 8: 1-11.  It is about a woman who committed adultery and was about to be stoned to death by the scribes.  What does Jesus say here, "If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."  All the scribes dropped their stones and walked away.  Before we cast our stones at others we must take a look at ourselves first - are we free of mistakes and worthy to cast a stone?  God must frown down upon us as he watches as we pass judgment, unforgivingness and minimal mercy to others.  God calls us to have mercy.  Micah 6:8  "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."  Matthew 12:7  "If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent."  Matthew 18:33  "And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?"  Each day we are faced with others' mistakes.  How will we chose to react?  How do we want others to react to us?  Before we become the critic, the judge or the stone-thrower, let's reflect on God's mercy.  How would God want you to respond?  A forgiving spirit is a beautiful gift - not only for the one forgiven but more so for the forgiver -  Show mercy.