“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
— Matthew 5:7
Mercy sounds like something that happens in court. The judge shows mercy for the criminal and only puts him in jail for ten years instead of for twenty — that kind of thing. We think of it as a big deal that only happens to adults.
You’ve experienced mercy yourself, though. What about that time you really messed up and your parents decided not to ground you for the rest of your life? Or the time your sister promised she wouldn’t tell on you for something you SO did?
You even show mercy. It’s what you do when you care so much about a friend, you forgive her for hurting your feelings. Or when your little brother flushes your math homework down the toilet, and you don’t flush him down with it. God doesn’t miss the mercy you show because he invented it. He likes it — so much that he has mercy on you when you need his forgiveness. It’s nice how that works out, isn’t it? It makes it definitely worth it to cut that homework-flushing little brother some slack.
More to Explore: Ephesians 2:4 – 5
Girl Talk: When was the last time you showed mercy to someone? When is the last time someone showed mercy to you?
God Talk: “God, thank you that you are willing to show mercy to me over and over again. Help me also to always have mercy on those who hurt me. Amen.”
From That Is So Me by Nancy Rue