GIVING AND RECEIVING MERCY

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Giving and receiving mercy is that act whereby one receives the good act that he or she may have done to the least or to a fellow brethren. It is same as an act of kindness. There are those who today might be down or in a humble state, but that does not mean; they will remain in that humble state forever; but just for a while before their exaltation to their glorious destiny. So as the Lord exalts them from grass to their grace; they will in return remember those that showed them mercy and reward them; as mercy from my definition is the undeserved kindness towards a fellow brother. And as it is written in the Bible, God exalts one and humbles another (Ps. 75:7) “But God is the judge; He puts one down and exalts another.” In another Scripture it says (Matt. 23:12) “And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” So as God exalts those whom He had humbles there are those who remembers where they might have come from; but to the wicked and the arrogant, they know not such a vocabulary.

MERCY TRIUMPHS OVER JUDGMENT

Mercy triumphing over judgment was best known to Apostle James in his epistle thus (Jam. 2:8-13) “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” and also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”  What does this mean? It means when one lives under the law, he will be a slave of the law; to live and abide by the law. But when one lives according to the liberty purchased unto us by the blood of Jesus Christ, there will be no law as mercy had triumphed over it on the cross of Jesus Christ as “all did finish” on that day.  So beloved brethren, what will stop us from treating those with less means than we have, or those of more humble station, in a less thoughtful way than we treat others? If we are to treat all men as equal and refrain from criticizing and speaking against some, what will create that attitude in us? As our only hope of salvation is God’s infinite mercy and unconditional love, so we in turn are to show mercy to all. Then our actions and our speech will be positive towards all.  We will not be guilty of murmuring against the common man who may not be able to benefit us. Apostle James, the writer of the Scripture we had seen, gives stern warning; the one who does not show mercy and love toward others is himself condemned by the law of grace, and since he did not show to others the mercy of Christ which he professes to have accepted, the judgment of that person will be without mercy. As mercy and love have no boundaries. Apostle Paul in his epistle of love to the Corinthians stated he thus (1 Cor. 13:1) “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” This is a total blow to some of us who have the gift of speaking in diverse kinds of tongues. We must show; mercy, love, compassion, kindness etc.  And to the Romans he commands (Rom. 12:6-8) “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them; if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who give, with liberality; he who leads with diligence; he who shows mercy, in cheerfulness.”

WHAT IS THE MYSTERY BEHIND MERCY THEN?

The mystery of mercy is well elaborated by Malachi the prophet concerning God’s love for Jacob and His hatred toward Esau (Mal. 1:2-3) “I have loved you,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘In which way have you loved us?’ “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” Says the Lord. “Yet Jacob I have loved; But Esau I have hated, and laid waste his mountains and his heritage for the jackals of the wilderness.” As explained  further: One nation as the object of God’s love is the recipient of unfailing mercy. Another nation as the object of God’s hate is the recipient of unrelenting justice. And to be sure about this, the latter is fully deserved. But this does not ultimately explain the difference between these two nations. Since both are equally sinful, why is the one targeted for fully undeserved mercy and the other for justice, be it ever so deserved? The deepest ground of this distinction is the Sovereign good pleasure of God’s incomprehensible but holy and wise decree. And its aim being the full display of the excellence of all God’s perfections, in which the administration of wrath functions as the ominous background against which the glory of the free love and mercy shines ever so brightly. As revelations unfold, this also appears to hold true for individuals. God draws or upholds mercy according to a master plan in which the reality of wrath serves to magnify the riches of glorious mercy.

See the epistle of Apostle Paul to the Romans about the same message as Malachi (Rom. 9:13-24) “As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.” What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion. “So it is not of him, who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show my power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. You will say to Me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” But indeed O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it?  “Why have you made me like this?” Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? What if God wanted to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might made known the riches of His glory in the vessels of mercy, which he had prepared beforehand for glory, even as whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles.”   Protests against His decree are summarily rejected. See (V. 20) “But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this? The master plan however, evokes profound praise. See (11:33) “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! This is the mystery of predestination. And it declares that God is God. (Rom. 8:30) “Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, and these He also glorified.” God is a God of order and program and no one should ever question Him for He knows our end from our beginning.

DO GOOD TO ALL

With the above passage in mind beloved, let us do good to all; as we might be entertaining angels without our knowledge (Heb. 13:1-3) “Let brotherly love continues. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwarily entertained angels. Remember the prisoners as if chained with them- those who are mistreated- since you yourselves are in the body also.” Any good or kindness we might show a fellow human being must not be put off, since this would be our last opportunity. It is said that John Wesley’s rule for life was to do all the good he could do, by all means, in all places, in all ways, at all times, to as many as possible, and for as long as possible.  These are the developments of the direction given by Moses- to care for the things and the well-being of others. To “put on tender mercies” (Col. 3:12) “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering.” These have its root in the Old Testament ethic: You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Lev. 19:18) “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” And the well-known Scripture says (Luke 6:38) “Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put in your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

“Grace to you and Favor of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with us all. Amen and Amen and Amen.”