Have you ever been in a fight with somebody who had no mercy?

When I was in prep school, I got into a fight with a guy in my dorm room. He said something racist, and since I was a big-mouthed wise guy from Brooklyn, I relayed to him how ignorant he was. He beat the living daylights out of me. If my friends hadn’t come and pulled him off me, I might not have lived to write this. He had no mercy.

Jesus, in His first sermon, said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7, NIV). The Bible from Genesis to Revelation is always touching on this thought that God is full of mercy.

The word “mercy” speaks of pity and compassion toward someone who is suffering, even if the suffering is the person’s own fault. With God, it means not giving us the punishment we deserve. This is one of the qualities about God that makes us love Him so much.

Mercy shows God’s outstanding character. The false Greek, Roman, and Israelite gods had zero mercy. They were full of vengeance. But the Old Testament prophet Micah said, “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy” (Micah 7:18, NIV).

When I was growing up, I heard people say, “You made your bed; now sleep in it.” While there’s some truth in that statement, thank God that He’s not like that. He delights in mercy. Is that not amazing?

In fact, salvation through Jesus Christ is based on God’s mercy: “God so loved the world . . .” (John 3:16, NIV). God could have said to us, “What, you don’t want to obey My law? You’re not thankful for everything I give you? Okay, you’re gone.” No. He had pity. Compassion. Mercy.

This characteristic is needed today for the Christian church to stand out in an unmerciful world. People around us say, “You disagree with me? You’re a devil.” But God delights in saying, “I’ll help you. Let’s forget what you did through the blood of Jesus Christ.” Is that not the most refreshing thing you can think of? That’s why the Bible tells us to show mercy to others (see James 2:13).

I once heard a preacher talk about how a guy had stolen his daughter away and gotten her pregnant. This man was pastoring a church but became so focused on the guy that he was paranoid and full of vengeance in his heart. He told the congregation, “I couldn’t preach for months until God showed me, ‘How are you going to show My love to the people when you have no mercy toward that person? Forgive him.’”

He broke down while telling the story. I broke down. The congregation broke down—it was Kleenex time. We all knew that feeling—we want to get back at others when they’ve hurt us. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. But the mercy of God that made our salvation possible inspires us to show mercy every single day.

Remember, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” As Jesus also said, “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:38, NIV).

Jesus told a parable about a man who was going to settle accounts with his servants. One servant owed him $850,000. The man told the servant, “I need the money. Don’t give me a story. I’ll go to the library for a story.”

The guy said, “No, listen, I’m really down. My kid has a debilitating disease, and my wife and I were short. Please don’t put me in jail. They need me.” So the boss had compassion. He had mercy. He let it go (see Matthew 18:23–27).

Isn’t that the story of all our lives? God had pity and mercy on us and said, “I’ll forgive you for Christ’s sake. Give your life to My Son, and I’ll be happy to show you mercy.” But the story doesn’t end there.

The servant who had been forgiven saw a man he knew and said, “Hey, I haven’t seen you for months. You owe me eighty-five dollars. I need the money now.”

The man said, “Please, you don’t know what’s happened.”

“Listen, I don’t like excuses. I need the money.” And the servant had the man put in jail.

When the boss heard about it, he said, “What? You couldn’t show mercy and forgive that guy for eighty-five dollars after I forgave you a huge amount?” (see Matthew 18:28–35).

When we don’t show mercy, do you think we hurt the people we don’t forgive? No, we hurt ourselves. Some of us have nervous, emotional, and physical manifestations because we’re holding on to offenses.

God delights in mercy. Come on, let’s be people who delight in mercy. I’ve counseled people I want to cry over who are wrecking their lives because they won’t let go. They’re going to remember offenses until the day they die. What a sad way to live.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” (Psalm 23:6, NKJV), and we’re going to show God’s mercy every single day in every way we can.

Prayer

Lord, thank You for showing us endless mercy when we least deserve it. Search our hearts today, and clear away any bitterness, grudges, or offenses we might be holding on to. Give us the strength to let go and extend Your free, full forgiveness to others every single day.

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