May 29, 2022 - INSCRIPTIONS FROM THE HEART

By Paul Douglas Bennyson

I was searching up for the definition of Mercy. The dictionary defines mercy as “compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.” The reason this came to my mind is because of the story of blind Bartimaeus when he cries out saying “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.”

As per the definition, mercy is an act of compassion or forgiveness. The two words compassion and forgiveness was something Jesus spoke a lot about in His time on Earth. Not only did He talk about them but also practiced them more than any human being. If we had to define compassion it is “feeling or showing sympathy and concern for others.” And forgiveness is “The action or process of forgiving or being forgiven.”

There are places in Jesus’ ministry where it said Jesus’ heart was moved with compassion. Matthew 9:36 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.” talks about His compassion towards people who had no idea where they were heading in their life because they lacked guidance and were living in their own broken world.

Mercy on the other hand is also the time God gives us to respond to Him. Lamentations 3:22 in King James Version says, “It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.”

As believers of Christ, we have been given an amazing front row privilege of experiencing the forgiveness of Jesus. But at times we find it very hard to forgive people who have offended us. The first thought that comes to our mind when somebody has offended us is Justice. Showing mercy to people who have offended us is hard. I personally find it hard in my life. But I did realize and have experienced that when I asked Him for help, He helped me. It was hard, it took time, but the truth is, He helped me and I became a free man as I was in peace. The answer has always been with Jesus. I believe we as individuals have to cry out for Mercy because of our inability to be merciful. Justice will be served as God is true to His word but exercising Mercy is something we as Christians should strive towards and lean on Jesus to help us through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

May we strive to be like Jesus – able to show mercy for people who offended us.