But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. (Lk 6:35-36)
But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them. (Ps 41:10)
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. (Ps 103:8)
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. (Heb 8:12)
These passages of Scripture talk of God being merciful. The verse from Hebrews reminds us that we have received the mercy of God ourselves, and without it, would not be saved.
God wants us to be merciful, even as Jesus (our example) is merciful. In what ways is mercy expressed? In these passages, we are shown some ideas on this topic.
- Love your enemies;
- Do good;
- Lend to the needy, expecting no repayment;
- Show kindness to the unthankful and evil; (Wow! Really, Lord?)
- Be slow to anger;
- Forget the sins of other people against you and against your loved ones;
- Raise others up.
These are all very challenging things to accomplish, and they are difficult, if not to say impossible, without God’s grace working in us to energize us.
How may we “raise others up”? We can help others by being encouraging, understanding, humble, and positive with our words. We can share information with them that was helpful to us or to someone that we love. We will receive grace to empower us to show them respect and the love of God, and never be judgmental.
In short, we see them as Jesus sees them: beloved, victorious and blessed—and treat them accordingly.
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