"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT GOD'S WONDERFUL MERCY"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT GOD'S WONDERFUL MERCY"

Luke 6:36 “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful."

Some explanatory thoughts and application, and a prayer:

1. First of all, this is a beautiful verse that says two basic things to us.

2. Those things are what our Father is like, and how He wants us to live as His followers.

3. The truth about God is that He is merciful. For example, consider these verses that speak of His mercy.
Ps 100:5 For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.
Ps 103:11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;

Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
Eph 2:5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
Eph 2:6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

4. But, what does this verse in Luke 6:36 actually say to us?.
(it's speaking of what we are to be, i.e merciful.)
(it's speaking as mentioned what our Father in heaven is like, He is merciful)
(So, these are Jesus's words to us, as to how we are to act and to live with respect to mercy, we are to be merciful)

5. What is mercy?. It comes from a word meaning to have compassion, and it means to pity. Mercy is also a gift of the Spirit. All Christians, are called to be merciful, but, some have this given to them as a gift, they are very compassionate, and that is there gift and contribution to the body of Christ.

6. Mercy is often compared with justice and grace. For example, Justice is getting what you deserve. Mercy is not getting what you deserve, and Grace is getting what you do not deserve. So, by being merciful, we are not giving to people what they deserve. And, I might add, that Luke 6:36 was given as part of sermon by Christ, where He had been teaching about how we are to deal with our enemies, we are to love them, pray for them do good to them, etc, and we are to be merciful in how we live and treat others.

A Prayer:

Father, You are the Father of mercies. This entire wonderful concept has come from You, You created mercy if You will, it has flowed out from You towards us. And, You call us to be like You in our relationships, especially with those who hate us, and are our enemies. Lord, if You have given to any of us this gift, may we use it to it's fullest. And, as all of Your children, let us walk in mercy day by day, bringing honor to You. Thank You for being merciful to us Lord. You gave justice for our sins to Jesus, but You have given us mercy, thank you.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia