Applying Mercy

Blessed are the merciful, 

for they shall receive mercy. 

(Matt 5:7)

By Stephen W. Hiemstra

In the parables examined, we begin to see the nature of God’s mercy. 

In the Good Samaritan, we learn that mercy requires a visceral reaction: Our hearts lean into mercy more than our heads. God is emotionally involved in our lives and our salvation. Furthermore, God’s forgiveness overcomes all prejudice.

In the Unforgiving Servant, we see that God is willing to forgive those who admit their sin and ask for his forgiveness. The only unforgivable sin is the refusal to believe. Still, our forgiveness comes with the obligation to extend mercy to those who sin against us.

In the Barren Fig Tree, we hear about the limits on God’s patience. God’s mercy does not mean that we can ignore him forever, like the man that plans to express belief on his deathbed without realizing that death does not always allow a deathbed confession. Furthermore, because a tree is known for its fruit, God is well aware that good fruit in a person comes from a good heart, which needs to be cultivated.

In the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, we find a sovereign God who favors humble believers. Humility before God clearly trumps simple worship, because both the Pharisee and the tax collector are devote men offering prayer in the temple.

Stepping away from the parables for a minute, how does the Bible teach that we should express mercy?

Sodom and Gomorrah

The story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is often interpreted primarily in terms of the judgment of God on these two cities for their sexual sin, including homosexual sin. Yet, the context of the story is a dialogue between God and Abraham that begins with:

The LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? (Gen 18:17-18)

While the judgment of the cities is topical, the story focuses on Abraham’s handling of God’s disclosure. What does Abraham do? Abraham immediately intercedes for Sodom and Gomorrah, expressing mercy for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The key phrase in Abraham’s intercession is: “Will you [God] indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” (Gen 18:23) God does not spare the cities, but he expresses mercy to Abraham by sending his angel to rescue Abraham’s nephew Lot and his family.

In this passage, God reveals his judgment to Abraham, a stand in for the rest of us, to see how Abraham will react. In this example, Abraham passes the test when he exhibits compassion for the cities and engages God in intercessory prayer.

The Reluctant Prophet

How many of us would pass God’s test of Abraham? In scripture, the counter-example to Abraham arises in the story of the Prophet Jonah. In this short story, we read:

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me. (Jonah 1:1-2)

God’s disclosure to Jonah is similar to that of Abraham. Nineveh is another evil city, that God told his prophet that he would destroy. But unlike Sodom and Gomorrah, God offers the city mercy by sending Jonah to “call out against it.”

Nineveh was the hometown of Sennacherib king of Assyria, who had seized all of Judea, except for Jerusalem (Isa 36:1). Jonah hated the Ninevites and, instead of going to preach God’s mercy to them, he got on a ship to escape from God and his mission. Then, as every Sunday school kid knows, a storm came up, the sailors tossed Jonah overboard, and he is swallowed by a whale that, after three days, spits him up on a beach. God then repeats his request for Jonah to go to Nineveh. Listen to why Jonah refused to go:

And he prayed to the LORD and said, O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. (Jonah 4:2)

In this response, Jonah recites Exodus 34:6, which recounts God’s character traits. Knowing God is merciful, Jonah refused to preach repentance to the Ninevites, but later does so reluctantly and they do repent, averting God’s wrath, much to Jonah’s consternation (Jonah 3:10, 4:1).

Judgment and End Times

Knowing that we are blessed to be a blessing and that God shares his plans for judgment with us through scripture and revelation, our attitude about those under judgment should change. Judgment of those outside the community of faith comes as a test of the hearts for those inside the community. Think about John’s prophecy about the end times:

The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth. (Rev 11:18)

Do we cheer the destruction of sinners, like Jonah, or intercede in prayer, like Abraham? Scripture clearly shows that God’s heart runs to mercy quicker than ours.

Applying Mercy
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com





Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/school_Sep2024,  Signup

 

The post Applying Mercy appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.