Perhaps it is helpful first to remember the Great Commission (Matt 28:19) NIV stated “therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing… teaching… Whereas the Message reads “Go out and train every one you meet, far and near, in this way of life, making them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in all that I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”
I find this above verse interesting in the fact that traditional public evangelical religious communication is now possibly so polarized, by the public hate speech and media demonstrations, that the evangelical community is effectively being silenced. Rural hamlets or cloistered communities may be the exception, which prompts me to contemplate that sewing mercy into the hateful fabric of our culture, or sowing the seeds of mercy into the hard barren soils now intolerant to scriptural truths or impenetrable to showers of blessings, is possibly preparing us to return to such as the Dark Ages like after the fall of Rome.
I am wondering as Christ Followers and Ambassadors, is the Holy Spirit NOW prompting us to be “upping our game” to expressions of mercy with far fewer words via overtly public preaching and teaching, but with many more under the public radar, heartfelt lingering knowingly loving glances of our eyes accompanied by tender touches, hugs, reassurances and prayers that we understand their pain, whatever the source. I am observing these interactions are being performed quietly and privately building on past events and understandings, regardless their duration.
Actually, such tactics were always to be implemented and utilized in the church, but we in the western church over the years became industrialized, then institutionalized, then enlightened, and now in the last century, educated beyond our competency until too often, we have sadly simply lost our Christian moorings. Now it’s anyone’s guess how our trivially concocted understanding of the end times may sorely refuse to mesh with His, as actually revealed in Scripture.
As Christ Followers, we must be explicitly clear about our mandate of extending mercy as put forth in the first paragraph, as well as the past several posts in preparing us to live victoriously while our chaotic culture and subsequent “off-the-vine-churches” must gasp for air from the worldly system of hospice care for their daily sustenance and even their pain medications. Rather sad, indeed gruesome, and in Christ’s eyes, entirely unnecessary!
Yes, everyone needs mercy because everyone has messed up. We’ve all hurt other people and made mistakes. We’ve all sinned and we all have hurts, habits, and hang-ups as a result of the mistakes we’ve made. Mercy changes the lives of people who have made mistakes, and we who have received mercy freely can change the world around us by showing mercy to others.
Here are four reasons we must keep sowing mercy. Though perhaps a trivial point, I am suggesting “sowing” may slightly elevate the action’s intensity over merely just showing mercy to others. Scripture uses them interchangeably.
1. Sow mercy in others because God has been merciful to you.
The Bible says that God is merciful. It is emphasized all throughout the Bible. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of verses that talk about God’s mercy and his love, his compassion, and his grace.
Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “God’s mercy is so abundant, and his love for us is so great, that while we were spiritually dead in dis-obedience he brought us to life with Christ. It is by God’s grace you have been saved” (GNT).
The point of that Scripture is this: God wants me to act in the same way to other people.
2. Sow mercy in others because God commands you.
In Micah 6:8, God speaks through the prophet to give us three big instructions for our lives. “The LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (NLT).
God says if you want a summary of what life’s all about, and if you’re going to be in his family, this is what’s required of you: You need to do what is right with others, to love being merciful to others, and to live humbly in fellowship with God. One third of God’s requirement for you on this planet is to love mercy. Why? Because God is merciful.
3. Sow mercy because you’re going to need more mercy in the future.
You’re not going to be perfect between now and when you get to Heaven. The Bible tells us we cannot receive what we are unwilling to give.
James 2:13 says, “You must show mercy to others, or God won’t show mercy to you . . . But the person who sows mercy can stand without fear at the judgment” (NCV).
Don’t you want to be able to do that on judgment day? To be able to stand without fear on judgment day? It says the person who shows mercy can stand without fear on the judgment day.
It isn’t the people who have kept more rules than anyone else who get to face their eternity with the greatest confidence. It is believers who have shown mercy to other people.
4. Sow mercy because it produces happiness.
The more merciful I am, the happier I’m going to be.
Proverbs 14:21 says, “If you want to be happy, be kind to the poor; it is a sin to despise anyone” (GNT). Remember, before that can be shouted from the rooftops, it needs to be lived in our spirit, soul, & body; heart, mind, and will.
Being kind to other people actually blesses you and makes you happier in life. And sowing mercy certainly produces greater joy in those to whom you’ve sown it. Would you rather live in a world that is harsh or a world where the people around you value mercy? That is rather plain today!
BOTTOM LINE: You get to help shape a world of mercy around you and allow more people to find freedom from their past when you’re willing to sow mercy.
Note the above italicized four reasons to sow mercy to others was taken from blog.pastors.com/articles/4-reasons-to show-mercy
NEXT UP: Spiritual Vision Through Personal Character