Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Today, we're going to talk about one of the hardest gifts to give away. It comes out of our Verse of the Day, where Jesus is speaking about mercy.
It comes from Matthew 5, chapter 7. It says, "God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy."
Mercy is something that we do not deserve. It's a gift, some might say, and Jesus is a perfect example of what mercy looks like. Before we get to Him, let's lay a little groundwork. If you were in a court of law and you had a long list of wrongs presented against you, you would be considered condemned. You would have a long list of things saying you deserve prison or community service, whatever it might be. But mercy is saying, you don't need to do all of this. It's a gift that's undeserved.
Jonah's Struggle with Mercy
Often, when you and I experience wrong, we're faced with a decision, one that's uncomfortable. That's why we started this by saying it's hard to give mercy. If I think of an example in Scripture where someone was faced with seeing God give mercy, it's Jonah. Jonah was so mad at the people of Nineveh, he actually did not want to go and tell them what God had told him to say.
Jonah was a prophet, and he was assigned by God to go to this people group and tell them basically how to be saved from God's wrath. God was going to destroy them and wipe them off the face of the earth because of the amount of sin that was happening in their city. Jonah ran the other direction. He decided it would be better for these people to get what they deserved than for him to go in and see them saved.
Maybe you've heard this in Sunday School, but after a little while on a ship and being tossed back and forth, he gets thrown overboard, swallowed by a fish, and he spends three days in the belly of that fish, only to get spit up to go to Nineveh and preach the message that God had given to him to share.
An Entire City Repents
Here's what's crazy. He walked through that city in obedience to God, sharing the message of salvation, and the entire city repented. An entire city of people steeped in sin and in wrong, with a long list of things saying that they deserved punishment—they all heard this message of salvation, were convicted, and said yes to the gift of God, the gift of grace and mercy toward them.
You'd think Jonah would be really excited about this. He goes up onto a mountainside and actually has a very different reaction. He sits there and he waits for God to rain fire down from heaven on these sinners. But it doesn't happen, and Jonah is frustrated. That's where the book ends. It ends with his frustration.
Jesus, the Ultimate Example
I think sometimes when we're forced—or rather feel forced—to forgive or to show mercy towards someone we don't want to, we can be in Jonah's position. But I'm reminded by Jesus what it looks like to ultimately show mercy, because when you look at His story, He lived a life that was sinless. He went to a cross and after three days in the grave came back to life, ultimately to show us mercy for all the sins that we would have ever done. He endured the cross, scorning the shame of sin, proving to the world that mercy is possible.
I feel this could be a little confrontational to us today, but I want to encourage you. If Jesus can do it, you can do it. That's why He says in this Scripture, "If you give mercy, you're going to be blessed. You'll be happy because you will be shown mercy."
If this feels like we're coming in a little strong, maybe it's the Holy Spirit convicting your heart. Maybe there's an area or a person in your life that really does need to be shown mercy. Be encouraged. The moment you do it, you'll look like Jesus to them. Maybe that one act will be the one thing that draws them closer to Him and into salvation.
