Mercy…One Sure Way To Make Progress
Romans 12:8: …Let he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.
As we highlighted in one of our previous posts, God has blessed you. You do not need to do anything extra to qualify for His blessings.
But, there are a certain character, attitude, and display that is expected of you. And these characters are not a yardstick to have the blessings but they are required if you want to enjoy the blessings to the fullness.
And we will be looking at one of the usually ignored traits, and that’s mercy.
What is mercy?
One dictionary says it as follows: "price paid, wages", also refers to benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social, and legal contexts.
The Bible made us understand that “it is not he that willeth or runneth but of God that showeth mercy” (Romans 9:16). You see, there are certain heights you will never get to if God’s mercy is not functional in you. And the good news is, His mercy is already available for you in Christ Jesus.
The Bible described God as one who is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4).
At that point where you received Christ as your Lord and savior, this mercy was made available to you.
The mercy we are talking about today is not the one from God to you but from you to the world; to everyone in your sphere of contact.
One of those mornings during my fellowship hours, the Lord brought our opening scripture to my heart. Until that day, I have never seen it from that angle. I have always concentrated on the other gift – prophecy, giving etc.
You should practice having mercy on people, especially those who you think have offended beyond a point that whenever their thought comes to you, your countenance is brought low.
These are the people you should have mercy on. And the Bible instructed us to do “it with cheerfulness” (Romans 12:8).
“Cheerfulness is not merely a matter of temperament, but to be cultivated as a duty”
No wonder, the Bible said we should pray for those “who despitefully use us” (Mathew 5:44). This should be your lifestyle. You should practice it every day.
And declare it always whenever the thought of anger or hatred comes to your mind. It is not enough to forgive them, you must show them mercy and you must do this with cheerfulness.
This is the same mind that was in Christ Jesus and He expressed it on the cross when He asked the father to forgive the whole world.
This might be the distance between you and that miracle and blessing you desire.
And one more important thing is you must learn how to have mercy on yourself, no matter the mistakes you’ve made.
The Bible talked about “coming to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
Bible References:
Romans 12:8
Romans 9:16
Ephesians 2:4
Romans 12:8
Mathew 5:44
Hebrews 4:16
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