Mercy is an attribute of one's character. In Greek the word used is eleeĊ ~ defined as:
- to have mercy on
- to help one afflicted or seeking aid
- to help the afflicted, to bring help to the wretched
- to experience mercy
And that seems relatively simple. Many of our Good Deeds would fall under the heading of Being Merciful. Mercy was embedded in Jewish Law & Tradition & as such was passed down into the Christian tradition but the one thing we know about Jesus & the Law is that His interpretation of it was radical, life~changing & far more about the heart that it was about outward behaviour.
It is not then surprising to find there are 4 different Hebrew words & 6 Greek ones that are variously translated as Compassion/mercy. The Hebrew word that interests us is: râcham. It means to love deeply. I believe this is the underlying principle Jesus is addressing because it is perfectly possible to act mercifully but in such a way people are repulsed & if you think that is not true consider our English word *charity*. Charity was the word typically translated from agape ~ the God sort of love ~ but it has come to mean a cold, heartless action motivated by duty rather than love & has almost completely fallen out of modern usage.
It is perfectly possible to do the right thing with the wrong motive but the defining characteristic of the Kingdom of God is love, because God Himself is love & so we must never assume Jesus words are merely addressing our actions. God is far more interested in our character development than we are.
What's more, it is an uniquely God characteristic & so when we practice mercy we are demonstrating to the world that we are indeed God's children. I say this because, if you have studied any history at all you know that William Barclay got it right:
What's more, it is an uniquely God characteristic & so when we practice mercy we are demonstrating to the world that we are indeed God's children. I say this because, if you have studied any history at all you know that William Barclay got it right:
A Christ~less world is a callous world, and mercy was never a characteristic of pagan life.
This quality of mercy is best understood if we go to 1st Corinthians 13 & look at the characteristics that define love, as Paul understands it: kindness, patience, civility, humility...this is love in action. This is how love behaves towards the stranger, the immigrant, the disabled, the young. It is also how love behaves towards those who wrong us, gossip about us, slander us, treat us with contempt, steal from us, abuse us. The Kingdom dynamics are radical.
Jesus said: "If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same." [Luke 6:33] Kingdom people are meant to be radically different to those around them. So much so that the world sits up & takes notice. Our whole idea of evangelism is skerwiff. Before people will listen to what we have to say they will look @ who we are. That is fair & reasonable. Until the evidence of the Living God shows in our lives all others see is the hypocrisy in our lives. If we are no different to the world then saying things like: My life is my witness, is both meaningless & dishonest.
Now, in the natural it is impossible to be merciful in the way Jesus means. Our flesh screams for vengeance. Here is where so many Christians miss it. Christianity is not simply a matter of salvation ~ though to listen to many Christians you could not be blamed for thinking that. Salvation is only the beginning. Salvation places the Holy Spirit within you & the Holy Spirit of the Living God is where all your power to live & act as Christ comes from! Salvation begins the process of a radically transformed life & it will produce fruit in you!
According to Galatians 5 :22~23 ... the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Yet again we see character formation producing fruit in our lives, fruit that is predominantly characterised by love. The 2nd fruit mentioned is joy. What does Jesus say: Blessed are the merciful ~ happy, joyful.... but biblically joy is tied to a person: the joy of the Lord is our strength [Nehemiah 8:10] for For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,[ Romans 14:17]
Now I will show you something in the Greek. Joy is chara but the word most closely related to it is charis ~ grace! Mercy & joy are linked to God's grace because grace is God's unmerited favour towards us. To the depth we understand God's grace to us, we understand His mercy toward us. Jesus says of that Mary who anointed His feet: "For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little." [Luke 7:47]
The thing is not that Mary's sin was greater or lesser than our own. Rather she understood the enormity of her transgression & her response was accordingly extravagant. When we fail to grasp the enormity of our own sin it has repercussions. Firstly it tends to make us see ourselves in a better light than others causing us to be judgmental & self~righteous. There is no mercy flowing from judgmental self~righteousness. When we understand how much mercy has been extended to us we are better able to extend mercy to others. The irony is that the better we understand the extent of our own sin & the grace & mercy of God towards us the more we are finally able to let go of our own guilt, our own self~condemnation & receive the free gift of God's mercy toward us.
In the way of things there are going to be 3 main groups of people who require our mercy: family, believers & unbelievers. Of these 3 groups it is often other believers we struggle with most because they should know better. They should behave better. This is why Jesus issued His warning about not judging.[Matthew 7:1] In context He is still on the mount expounding upon the Beatitudes & this command is about extending mercy to those who haven't quite got it yet.
When it comes to unbelievers it can be problematic. They do not have the same sort of restraints on their language & behaviour that Christians generally employ but there is a verse in Romans [2:4] that highlights the importance of our response , for as followers of Christ our response should not only be Christ~like but may be the defining response that brings someone into the kingdom:
Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
Mercy is serious business. It never condones sin but it responds with grace & kindness because the deepest need of the human heart is to be accepted & loved. That need is never greater or more needed than by those trapped in the net of their own sin.
Mercy is serious business. It never condones sin but it responds with grace & kindness because the deepest need of the human heart is to be accepted & loved. That need is never greater or more needed than by those trapped in the net of their own sin.
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