Scriptures give us clues as to the manner in which disciples of Christ should be merciful. This daily devotional looks at different ways we can facilitate our being merciful.
Nuggets
- Being merciful is a choice.
- Showing mercy and righteousness should be between us and God
- Being merciful is the opposite of being selfish.
- We must act with mercy immediately when the situation requires.
Devotions in the Being Merciful Leads to Godliness series
To read devotions in the Redo for Godliness series, click the appropriate button below.
Being merciful is one of the ways that leads to godliness. Since we choose to be merciful, let’s look to see what insight Blair’s sermon gives us.
Resource
Let's Put It into Context
God’s mercy is the unexpected way God responds in love to our needs. Disciples’ mercy is a characteristic of compassion for the needs of others, especially those who are weak and unhappy.
Giving Mercy Willingly
“Each person should do as he has decided in his heart — not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver” (II Cor. 9: 7 CSB)
Being merciful is a choice.
Often, this verse is used to inform our attitude on tithing. But, really, it can be applied to other things.
We talk a lot about being a disciple involves the many decisions we have to make daily. These decisions are made in the heart.
Glossary
We choose whether we are going to show compassion to someone in need or look the other way. We choose whether we give mercy for right reasons or wrong reasons.
We’ve already talked about “… For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you” (Lk. 6: 38 CSB). God does give proportionately.
It really isn’t compassion if we are giving mercy begrudgingly. We can’t think that God is wanting us to act in a totally opposite way than we want to act. It has to be genuine.
We have to be a genuine disciple. Spurgeon wrote, “Now the professed Christian, who is no giver, or being a giver is not a cheerful giver, is out of order with the system which revolves around the Cross of Christ.”
Resource
To show mercy to others, we must both be sympathetic and empathetic toward them. We must not only have the feelings of sorrow toward them, but we must also be willing to understand and share those feelings.
It is more than just a surface I-am-sorry-you-are-weak-and-unhappy. It is a generous, cheerful hey-do-you-need-an-ear and here-is-some-chicken-soup.
God requires us to give proportionally. “… Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more” (Lk. 12: 48 ESV).
If you think about it, we’ve all been given much. God gave us grace, salvation, love, mercy — the list goes on and on.
That means much will be required of us.
Showing Mercy through Modesty and Humility
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven” (Mt. 6: 1 CSB)
Showing mercy and righteousness should be between us and God.
We are commanded to give, but it is not supposed to be a show. In the King James Version, righteousness is translated alms. The Holman Bible Dictionary says that alms or almsgiving is “… the practice of charitable giving, especially to the poor …”
Resource
Hmmm. Excuse me while I connect some dots.
Righteousness is the result of a solid relationship with God built by a sincere life of conscientious obedience to God’s laws and commandments. The result is we are righteous, free from sin because we are following God’s moral laws.
When we are righteous, that means we possess godliness. Godliness, equated with the Old Testament term fear of the Lord, is an attitude of reverence that is promoted by walking in His Spirit and obeying God’s laws and commandments and produces a moral likeness of God.
If we are like God, we have the character traits of mercy and love. We show compassion for the needs of others.
So, if we substitute mercy for righteousness, it gives it an interesting twist. Be careful not to practice your mercy in front of others to be seen by them.
We aren’t to perform our acts of mercy to get recognition from others. We don’t do things so we can get our names on the 6:00 news.
Our mercy is holding hands with our humility. Humility is a character trait that diminishes pride and places dependence on God while holding a modest view of our importance with respect to others.
God is the focus, not the act we are performing. Good wrote, “The gift of alms [is] a deed of justice as well as of mercy …”
Resource
Now, that adds justice to the mix. A couple devotions back, we said that Mitchell wrote, “At the Cross of Christ justice and mercy blend, righteousness and grace kiss each other.”
Resource
Justice is “the order God seeks to reestablish in His creation where all people receive the benefits of life with Him.”
Resource
Order. Compassion. Acts of charity. Modesty.
This is gelling in my mind as mercy needs to be an everyday, normal occurrence. It is par for the course.
Being Merciful Instead of Selfish
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them” (Lk. 6: 32 CSB)
Being merciful is the opposite of being selfish.
Okay. Blair titled this section “From a kind and merciful, not from a selfish and mercenary temper (Luke 6:32).”
So, it kind of seems funny to me that the verse Blair chose is the love-your-enemies verse.
If our character is like that of God’s, then we love. If we love — even our enemies — through diminished pride, we esteem them higher than ourselves.
If we hold others with a higher esteem, we are more apt to share with them. That makes us less selfish.
We can’t show mercy when we are selfish. Mercy is the opposite of lacking consideration for others.
Being Merciful without Delay
“Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life (Prov. 4: 23 CSB)
We must act with mercy immediately when the situation requires.
What? I don’t get how guarding our hearts help us to be merciful without delay. Maybe I will figure it out as we go along.
We know how important our hearts are. We are to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mk. 12: 30 NIV). Our heart is our core.
Glossary
I found a great quote as to why we should look to our hearts rather than our understanding. Christian Age wrote, “If we ask why the heart is chosen rather than the understanding, the judgment, or memory, we find our answer in the fact that the understanding may be always subject to circumstances, or may be enfeebled by disease; the judgment may be in error, and the memory may fail.” The heart controls our passions and our intellect. All of our conduct comes from the heart.
Resource
We know what Scriptures think of mankind’s heart. Our hearts will always be wicked (sinful) because of our human nature (Jer. 17: 9).
Since our hearts have the propensity to sin, we need to guard them. Yes, sometimes this will need to be a really strict guard.
In another sermon, Blair explained why we should guard our hearts. He wrote that “the state of the heart determines our moral character.”
Resource
I think what Blair was getting at when he wrote mercy without delay was, when we see a situation, we need to immediately act compassionately. Just as we need to guard our hearts, we need to guard our attitudes.
It is easy to not act mercifully because of circumstances. We’re having a bad day. Our relationship with the person was damaged in the past.
We need to act compassionately immediately — regardless.
Being Bountifully Merciful
“Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share (I Tim. 6: 18 CSB)
Our mercy is shown through good works.
It is great to know that we can be instructed. Our sinful nature may try to convince us we can never be truly merciful. It would be wrong.
We each have a purpose in this world. We must diligently work to fulfill that purpose.
That purpose is for us to do good works. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do” (Eph. 2: 10 CSB).
Being merciful is all about doing good works for God.
Being Merciful Because of Gratitude to God
“I know, my God, that you test the heart and that you are pleased with what is right. I have willingly given all these things with an upright heart, and now I have seen your people who are present here giving joyfully and willingly to you” (I Chron. 29: 17 CSB)
We show our gratitude to God by being merciful to others.
God has given us so much. We don’t deserve what He as given us.
But God loves us and wants to restore our relationships with Him. So, He deals with us mercifully. We can only recognize, as David did, that this mercy comes because of His grace.
Resource
We are expected to praise Him by showing that mercy to others.
When we show mercy to others, we are showing them how God wants to be worshiped. Again, we take David’s example as he contributed to the building fund for the temple.
Being Merciful As If to Christ Himself
“And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded” (Mt. 10: 42 NLT)
Jesus said that if we are merciful to the least of our brothers and sisters, we are merciful to Him.
Matthew 10: 42 is a packed verse, isn’t it?
God gives us our abilities and our possessions. They aren’t just ours. We are to use them for His glory.
No, it doesn’t have to be much. It could even be a cup of water.
It reminded me of a hymn that I hadn’t heard for a long time. One of the lines goes, “If just a cup of water I place within your hand, then just a cup of water is all that I demand.”
We are going to be asked to give back commensurate to what we have been given.
Related Links
Larry Ford
We may think we are giving the water to someone. We are really giving it to Jesus.
“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’” (Mt. 25: 40 CSB).
Our act of mercy will be remembered and rewarded. Norwood wrote, “… no humble action in its relation to high principles is lost; but is retained in a future judgment.”
Resource
Well, isn’t God omniscient? Isn’t He omnipresent?
To read a related devotion, click on the appropriate button below.
God is going to know when we are merciful — or not.
Making the Connections
We need to be merciful to show God’s character. Dale wrote, “The satisfaction is not in the giving, but in the honour which comes to him as the result of it …”
We need to have the right attitude when we show mercy.
Resource
How Do We Apply This?
- Pray for a spirit of generosity
- Guard our thoughts and affections.
- Correct our course immediately when we find ourselves going astray.
- Focus on God and His plan for us.
Resource
I keep thinking through all of this is that God lets us choose. We choose to be His disciples — we choose to be like Him. We need to choose to be merciful like Him.
Father God. You are so loving. You do not force Yourself on us. Lord, we choose to be Your children. Help us to imitate You. We want to be merciful like You. Amen.
What do you think?
Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
If you don’t understand something and would like further clarification, please contact me.
If you have not signed up for the email daily or weekly providing the link to the devotions and the newsletter, do so below.
If God has used this devotion to speak with you, consider sharing it on social media.