“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Mic. 6:8.
“Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry for ever but delight to show mercy.” Mic. 7:18.
One of the great challenges of life is: to show mercy. Mercy is getting what you don’t deserve and not getting what you do deserve. We deserved eternal separation from God by our rebellion and sin in the Garden. But God in His great mercy, gave us what we did not deserve: eternal life…if we accept it on His terms. He did not give us instant death, which we did deserve, but He gave us a ‘life span’ or ‘duration of life,’ which is a ‘space for repentance.’
This space of repentance was an act of mercy…providing opportunity from God, who loves us, to acknowledge Him and receive what we could not earn—His favour. We are meant to be like Him—offering mercy to those who oppose us, and those, who are ‘in their own eyes,’ our enemies.
When we receive unjust criticism or unjust persecution, we don’t offer retaliation, anger, revenge or distancing in return. We show mercy and love…even as Christ has done for us. Often, we may be tempted to judge others and find them falling short of our standard or even God’s standard. We then can choose to take what we feel is a ‘righteous position’ and pull back from loving, accepting and showing mercy. Only God knows the hearts of men and women. He knows when they will receive a revelation and return to Him. We don’t know those things. We act like Him, patiently waiting…meanwhile showing and delighting to show mercy as He does. We are also, like others, need mercy and the ‘patient waiting of others’ to love us and show mercy while we move toward a ‘day of revelation and repentance. Sow what you want to reap…mercy. 1 Pet. 3:8-11.