“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” Matthew 5:7
Jesus manifested mercy to the thief on the cross. He showed mercy to the woman who was brought to Him accused of adultery.
The daily Bible reading this last week or so has been about David. Yesterday I read the story of him and his men being in a cave when King Saul came in. David had been fleeing for his life for some time, and it seemed to his men that this chance had come for him to kill King Saul and end the pursuit. But David refused to take advantage of the opportunity and showed mercy for Saul.
I Samuel 24:12 in the NLT reads, “May the Lord judge between us. Perhaps the Lord will punish you for what you are trying to do to me, but I will never harm you.”
David showed mercy on his biggest enemy. I wonder if we would have been able to do the same, had we been in David’s shoes.
Where would we be without the mercy of Christ toward us? Some of us have known the Lord since we were children, others came to Him later in life, but if it wasn’t for His mercy, we would not have Him in our lives.
Because we have been shown mercy, the Lord expects us to be merciful to those around us. It is so easy to look at the mistakes and sins of others and judge them, sometimes even asking the Lord to punish them for their wickedness. But when we remember, that we are all sinners in God’s sight, we realize we did not deserve God’s mercy, either.
When the world looks at me, do they see mercy?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for the mercy you have shown toward us. Help us Lord to be merciful to others.
Devotion by Anne Johnston
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