Mercy

 Luke 6:36 ESV

Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.


If we're not merciful towards others, why would we expect God to be merciful towards us? Our mercy doesn't earn God's mercy. Yet if he has been merciful to us, we should be merciful to others.

I'm reminded of Jesus's parable of the debtors. One has his epic, unpayable debt cancelled. Yet instead of being merciful to his relatively modest debtor, he insists that the poor guy coughs up, and ends up jailed indefinitely himself by the King he was indebted to in the first place.

God doesn't show us mercy in order for us to continue in our sins. He shows us mercy so that he can transform us into Christlikeness. We are to be holy, as God is holy.

Too often, we make excuses for our unrighteousness. It's true that God mercifully meets us where we're at. It's also true that he graciously doesn't leave us in the pig sty as it were. 

'Merciful Father, please have mercy upon us, and empower us to show mercy to others too. For we ask in your Son's name, amen'. 



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