Lord Have Mercy

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Lord Have Mercy

Scripture: Matthew 5:7 (ESV)

          7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Devotion:

          Today we deal with the topic of mercy. As the beatitude above suggests there is a reciprocal relationship between showing mercy and receiving mercy. In many places the scriptures set mercy in this context for example we have this in Psalm 18:25

      25       With the merciful you show yourself merciful;

      with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; (ESV)

 

          So, what exactly is mercy? Mercy is “to show kindness or concern for someone in serious need”.[1] The parable of the “Good Samaritan” is probably the best known Biblical example of what having mercy on someone looks like when put into practice. The Samaritan in the story shows exceptional amounts of mercy on the man who has been beaten and robbed. He cared for the man’s injuries, put him on his donkey and set him up at an inn so he could recover from his injuries. See Luke 10:25-37 for the full parable.

          The “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” nature of mercy is stressed in the gospel of Matthew (6:12, 14–15; 9:13; 12:7; 18:21–35; 23:23).[2] We are explicitly told in these and other verses that in order to receive mercy from God one must have shown mercy to our neighbors. In fact, in the model prayer that Jesus taught his disciples this principle in included. (See Matt. 6:12)

          So, what in practical terms, can we do for our neighbors to show mercy? We can show radical compassion on those who are ill, in need of food, shelter, or clothing. We can show kindness to everyone we meet in our daily lives. Forgiving, from the heart, those who have harmed us in any way.

          For myself, I know that I have received much mercy from my family members and members of my church. I pray that when I have the opportunity to return the kindness shown to me, I will do so. God has also been merciful to me in many ways. Let us pray that we may both show and receive mercy.

Prayer:

          Lord God, we praise you for your mercy to us each and every day. May we be faithful servants and show mercy to our neighbors. Both the ones we know and those whom we meet by chance. May all people glorify your name when they see us showing mercy toward others in your name and by your power. In Jesus name we ask this. Amen.


[1] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 750.

[2] R. T. France, Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 1, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 116.

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