Day 20 - Mercy
THE WORD
“Blessed are the merciful…for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7 (NIV 84)
THE APPLICATION
In the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant was the most prized possession in all of Israel! It symbolized the tangible presence of God. It was crafted from pure gold, and it contained sacred items like the 10 Commandment tablets, a pot of manna, and Aaron’s budding staff. It was covered with a gold slab that was adorned with two facing cherubim (angels). Directly between the cherubim was the space where the presence of God was believed to dwell. Scripture speaks of God being “enthroned upon the cherubim”, and for Israel, that place was literally on top of the Ark of the Covenant. From there, the Lord would manifest and make known his commandments to Moses. We call that particular place on the Ark of the Covenant its “mercy seat.” And once every year, on the Day of Atonement, blood was sprinkled on that open space to atone for all the sins of Israel, and demonstrate God’s mercy to the people He loves.
The symbolism of it all gives us so much insight into Jesus’ beatitude. Mercy is not simply an action toward others, but rather, it is actually a place. Mercy is the place where a loving, holy God meets unholy people. This means that when we offer mercy to others, we are providing a place for them to experience God’s love, even though they don’t deserve it!
The apostle Paul explains how he has received such tremendous mercy from the Lord:
“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ.In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus. This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all.”
1 Timothy 1:12-15 (NLT)
If justice renders what you deserve, and grace gives you what you don’t deserve, then mercy withholds what you deserve. Paul was an example of someone who had been ruthless, but yet eventually realized that he had been shown a great amount of mercy by Jesus. Due to Paul’s response, the Lord changed him and used him as an extension of His mercy to others.
It is often said that sometimes it is difficult to give what you have not yet received. Therefore, if we forget the mercy that is shown to us through the sacrifice of Christ, then we are prone to treat others as if we have not been spared. By reflecting on the mercy that we have received, we allow the Lord to use us to create places for Him to meet people when they least expect it.
THE NEXT STEP
- Make a list of how the Lord has shown you mercy in your life.
- Pray that the Lord would show you how to live out the works of mercy and compassion for someone who is currently dealing with hurts and hang-ups that, through God’s mercy, you have been delivered from.
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