Love Mercy

“He has shown you, O mortal, 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.”
Micah 6:8

Last month we looked at Micah 6:8 and the instruction to act justly, but the verse doesn’t stop there, it continues with “love mercy”. There is a reason the two are paired together. God desires us to be active in extending justice and mercy, just as he does with us. The entirety of the Bible tells the story of God’s perfect justice and mercy. We see both displayed in the Old Testament as the sin of the Israelites did not go unpunished but they were graciously offered numerous chances to repent. In the New Testament, we see Jesus perfectly expressing justice and mercy as he showed compassion on the oppressed and confronted the oppressor. But the clearest picture of God’s perfect justice and ultimate mercy is witnessed at the cross.

At the cross, Jesus took the weight of our failures and paid our punishment. Out of love, he offered himself in our place so that we could be forgiven. We don’t deserve that kind of love. We didn’t earn the gift of salvation but he still chose to endure the punishment of our sin, so we wouldn’t have to. That is the epitome of mercy. It is the completeness of us not getting what we deserve and instead being extended undeserved kindness and compassion. As one devotion I read recently said, “His mercy stuns the undeserving.” The extent of the mercy we have been shown, should compel us to show mercy to others. That is the idea we see reflected in Micah 6:8 and Mark 12:31 with the command to “Love your neighbor as yourself”.

Mercy isn’t a resource we keep to ourselves. It is a heart attitude that should flow out of us every single day. As our GEMS girls are learning, to love mercy is to treat people with kindness and love even when we don’t feel like it. Loving mercy isn’t easy, in fact, it can be costly. But a heart transformed by the grace of Christ is one inclined to show compassion to others.

As we enter into preparation for Easter and Lent this week, what a perfect opportunity to reflect on justice and mercy. Consider the depth of the grace God has extended to you and how you might reflect God’s heart of mercy this season. As children of God we were made to serve others in love. Serving doesn’t have to be something drastic, and it can look different for everyone. But every small act of kindness we extend to someone else, expands God’s kingdom as we reflect the mercy he gave us. Take a moment to thank God for his loving mercy and ask where he might be calling you to love mercy today.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, We thank you for your love and mercy. What assurance we have knowing that you don’t let evil go unpunished but at the same time have lovingly saved us when we didn’t deserve it. We pray that the truth and depth of your grace for us would change our hearts to extend mercy to others. Open our eyes to the ways we can love mercy in our day to day lives. It is in your son’s name we pray, Amen.

Makalah Scholten

Director of Operations