It is rather interesting that I have come to this section. I took a class called Justice, values, and ethics. Social work has a long history of speaking on behalf of and joining with and advocating for the vulnerable, seeking social justice. We had two debates in this class and my topic was capital punishment. In the capital punishment debate, it is either a debate on the side of retributive justice or mercy. Many in today's society far rather punish offenders to the fullest extent than to show leniency and grace. But, grace is the way of the Christian. Wiersbe (2007) begins the chapter by saying how the Roman world also valued justice. Mercy, in that time, and I believe in ours was seen as something to be abhorred of and a disease of the soul. Slaves were seen as disposable property. In that time, if a wife gave birth to a girl or a sickly son, he had the choice to reject the child and let it die. Rare was the virtue of compassion and mercy. I take a moment to ponder my own existence had I been born during first century Palestine. What would be my chances. Blind from birth, currently and potentially permanently crippled, what would be my life chances. My parents opted not to have an abortion though I had been born nearly a decade after its legalization. At times like these, I am not certain if I would desire if they had chosen otherwise. This was the first day when my physical condition and the lingering pain drew me to a moment of sorrow and despair. A consideration of mercy is a good place to pause.
Wiersbe begins to describe the differences between grace and mercy. "Truth becomes faithfulness, holiness becomes justice, and love becomes grace and mercy. Mercy is one of the spiritual bridges God has built so that He can relate to you and me, and mercy is a bridge you and I must build if we are going to relate lovingly to others. God's mercy and grace grow out of His love. Nobody is saved because God loves him or her, for God loves the whole world. Sinners are saved because of God's grace and mercy, His love in action. It is easy to remember the difference between grace and mercy. God in His grace gives me what I do not deserve. In His mercy He does not give me what I do deserve. In one sense, grace is positive whereas mercy is negative, although this should not be carried too far." (p. 98). "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed" (Lamentations 3:22 KJV). We find many examples of mercy in the Bible. Early on, in Genesis 19, we see God sparing Lot and his family from the destruction. It was nothing of Lot, but everything of God's character that prevented the calamity to come upon Lot. Wiersbe makes this awesome statement later on the same page. It is mercy that pity and grace that pardons.
Wiersbe then goes on to describe what mercy involves. It first involves pain. There is an offense. But mercy also involves power. There is the power to punish. Mercy then is the power to pardon. God, in His infinite love and mercy has the power to show ultimate mercy. There is a chain of events that Wiersbe beautifully describe. "These, then, are the links in the chain of mercy: pain, power, truth, love, faith, and growth. We suffer because of another's sin, but we choose to use our power for growth instead of retaliation. It is the act of faith that shows the mercy that converts pain into spiritual growth. It is love that makes us want to exercise this faith; it is the Holy Spirit within who gives us this love." (p. 99).
Wiersbe then describes now the chain of each virtue. We first begin with the right attitude about ourselves, being poor in spirit. When we are poor in spirit, then we mourn over our sin. When we have a right attitude about God's word, we act with meekness. Having a right attitude toward God and His word we begin to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Having God's righteousness we begin to exhibit God's character and thus we have come to mercy.
Wiersbe then looks at examples of mercy in the Bible. The first he discusses is Abraham. Remember in Genesis 13, the herdsmen between Abraham and Lot had begin to quarrel. Abraham then let Lot choose which part of the land he wanted. Now in Genesis 14, Lot is in trouble and Abraham comes with an army to go rescue Lot and his family. Abraham did not need to rescue Lot. He could have said Lot chose for himself where to go and he got himself to trouble. Nevertheless mercy was shown to Lot. The same can be said of Joseph with his brothers. Joseph could have punished his brothers for selling him into slavery yet he chose not to. Instead, he blessed them. Of all the examples of mercy in the Bible, none compare to the mercy that was shown at the cross. "It is the cross that makes mercy available to us and through us. We must never extend mercy on the basis of our own "spirituality" but rather on the basis of His finished sacrifice. If the mercy we show bypasses the cross, then it also bypasses truth and righteousness, and it can never lead to peace. "But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving" (James 3:17). "Peace at any price" is never a basis for mercy. "Making peace through his blood, shed on the cross" (Colossians 1:20) is the only true basis for mercy." (p. 104). Those were very powerful words uttered on the cross. "it is finished". Yesterday, in small group, we discussed the power of this statement. We can rest in the Gospel. We do not need to earn our way to God. Jesus has done all the work. We don't need to prove anything to God. Here, in another context, those words continue to have meaning. Because of Christ's finished work, we are able to show that same kind of mercy to those who do not deserve it. Wiersbe states we must experience God's mercy in our hearts in order for us to be channels of God's mercy. In Matthew 18, we find the unmerciful servant who was forgiven a huge debt but then he was unable to forgive a man of a minor debt. Wiersbe says something about the Lord's supper I never thought of. We do not come to remember our sin, but to remember Christ's death and sacrifice. There truth and mercy are found, the truth of my offense and the mercy of God at the cross. This is a perpetual memory of Christ's sacrifice and mercy.
Wiersbe for a brief moment discusses several ways of dealing with sin. In John eight we find the woman caught in the act of adultery. The leaders propose the legal way of dealing with the offense, to stone her. Wiersbe says the law can never cleans, only condemn. then there is the human way which is exploitation of the sinner, find the person, point out his or her wrong-doing and make others look good. This is the human way. Jesus rejects both these ways in this narrative. Jesus way is mercy, "neither do I condemn you".
"How thrilling it is to go through life sharing God's mercy and not having to judge people to see if they are "worthy" of what we have to offer. We stop looking at the externals and begin to see people through the merciful eyes of Christ. Every Christian we meet is a person in whom Jesus lives; every lost soul we meet is a person for whom Jesus died. In both cases, we have candidates for God's mercy.
The only way God could get His mercy to this world was through His Son. The Son of God had to become flesh before mercy and truth could meet together.
It is the same today; mercy in the abstract means nothing—it must always be incarnate in human flesh. The evasive lawyer wanted Jesus to discuss the abstract question of "Who is my neighbor?" But Jesus forced him to see one half-dead stranger at the side of the road and one hated alien who showed mercy to that stranger. The world cannot see mercy apart from the people who experience it and share it. You and I are to be those people. ." (pp. 109-110).
Prayer:
Father, mercy is costly. It cost You Your Son. Mercy is not a valued virtue today. We value justice and retribution when wrongs are done to us. We are quick to judge and quick to repay. Help us to see through Your eyes of love and mercy. However, would we not at the same time be soft on truth and soft on sin. You show that balance with the woman caught in the act of adultery. We can remember time after time when we have been wrong. May we not count the times we have been wronged especially with those close to us. Remind us through sacraments such as the Lord's supper of Your sacrifice and mercy that we too can show mercy.
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