But the wisdom that comes from heaven is … full of mercy
James 3:17 (ESV)
Have you noticed that there’s a word recognised as ‘merciful’ and a word ‘merciless’? There’s no word as yet which can help us like, mercisome.
That would really help because a lot of us would find that word very fitting. Yet the characteristic of someone who follows Jesus is one who is noted for being merciful. This is a character of someone who follows Jesus as well as a quality that shapes the approach to the wisdom from above. That makes sense because Jesus from above commends those who have the qualities from above and that shapes decisions that we make here below that reflect our place from above.
That’s not something that we depict some of the time, when it’s convenient, when we feel like it and when it makes us look good. This is a quality that we’re full of. The reason why we’re full of this quality is the same reason why we follow Jesus. We follow Him because we find Him to be the one of greatest value and recognise Him to be our lives. We depend on Him, we lean on Him and trust Him to work through us. He does that through giving His Spirit and we allow His spirit to lead, guide and direct us through all of life, so we appreciate the character of God and how He created us to be in character. That’s particularly evident in decisions that reflect heavenly wisdom even as it’s evident in how God exercises this mercy to the degree that He shows it time after time to those who are His. Not dismissing them outright, not being quick to judge and condemn, rather out of mercy giving another opportunity for good to take place.
Exercising this in our decision-making can be seen in relationships where we are not quick to be angry, where we don’t look to impose grievances and disappointment in a way that brings up barriers. We can see people do wrong to us and fail us and because of that mercy that we have received, we are far more eager to see how we can give that person a chance to be restored and to be built up, rather than cast them away and speak evil of them.
This is particularly seen in that remarkable capacity to forgive. It might be a rightful response to suggest someone can no longer experience our blessings because of wrongdoing. It could be a just response to enforce a decision to cut off someone after a calamitous occasion. Yet the wisdom of God marked by mercy may direct us to still extend the olive branch; to still suggest to the other person that they can receive favour and benefit from the association. This is only truly and purely only ever possible because of that focus on God and a reminder of the mercy we have experienced from Him.
This is mercy that we have come to expect, as throughout His Word He is described as being full of mercy. Mercy that we should have experienced when we understand how Jesus died for us while we were still sinners. Contemplating what it is we’ve been forgiven of, where mercy has been shown to us, considering where we should have been and what our acts, intents and desires really deserved and what we actually get in Jesus Christ. Those reflections and contemplations should do something to our will and stir our acts to demonstrate what it is to be merciful.
This is in contrast to a world that often applauds the merciless and thinks it’s reasonable to go for being mercisome. That’s more than evident in the harsh comments and actions offered for even the slightest infractions. The speed with which demands are made for dismissals, the clamour made for resignations, the move to make some cultural outcasts and social misfits can be swift and brutal. Where decisions are based on the momentary self-absorbed impulse that seeks to set us up as the judge, jury and executioner, it takes the Spirit of God to help us be radically different. This same Spirit then offers us the chance to display the wonderful quality that if we were honest we would want to receive, but in practice, we are slow to give when someone else has slighted us. Yet as we turn our eyes on the one above, meditate on Him and receive the help He gives generously with that heavenly wisdom, so we make it our lifestyle and character to just operate in a manner that is full of mercy.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 