Show Mercy to Others

“Yes, you must show mercy to others. If you do not show mercy, then God will not show mercy to you when he judges you. But the one who shows mercy can stand without fear before the Judge.”
‭‭James‬ ‭2:13‬ ‭ERV‬‬

One thing about reading the Bible everyday for years, you can never exhaust the knowledge that you gain from it. The knowledge and truth will be what you need that day and the same verse may show someone else that they need.

These verses jumped on me today. As a teacher of middle school students, it is a daily occurrence that a student needs mercy! They are their own worst enemy. I can't give up on them, no matter how hard I may be tempted. I can never lose hope in what they will become one day. If I don't show mercy to a 7th grader, how can I expect God to show mercy to me?

How about about work? Have you given up on your boss or a coworker? Do you sincerely give them mercy? Love never quits. Never. Don't give up on God transforming them if you ask Him.

How about people you encounter in everyday life? This is a tough one because we don't think it matters. When a salesperson messes up our order or we get overcharged or a driver smashes our car or the waiter brings us the less than perfect order? We act like this person is doing this on purpose to us and we do not give them one ounce of mercy. God will remember this when it's time for us to need His mercy. We have a hundred reasons why we deserve mercy but we accept no reasons why that person needed mercy.

What about family member? Probably every person has a story of a relative that has hurt you or wronged you and you do not feel like giving them any mercy. You tried but you have washed your hands of them. You have no hope that they will ever change. Aren't we thankful that God does not give up on us.

How about in our marriages? Do I give mercy to Mark? I try to pray every Tuesday specifically for Mark. Do I pray with confidence that God can be trusted to transform Mark? I must admit that Mark is a much better person than me but he still has some mess-ups and my first reaction is to not give him mercy. Why? We just do that when people offend us. But I certainly expect Mark to show me mercy when I mess up.

God is patiently speaking to us through His word. However, sometimes we just don't have "ears to hear." Lord, I pray that what you say in your word literally jumps off the page.

“Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:7‬ ‭ERV‬‬