+DEV+ Mercy

Date: May 19, 2009 10:21 PM

Topic: +DEV+     Mercy

Mercy

Scripture Focus: Matthew 9:27-3

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).

Mercy is . . . 

• watching a friend suffering in a hospital, squeezing his hand to remind him he is not alone.

• bandaging a child’s cuts and offering him a cookie to cheer him up.

• noticing the widow’s son does not have a warm coat and giving him one.

• forgetting the cutting remark you heard about yourself, instead of retaliating in kind.

• overlooking a friend’s faults (not sins) instead of harping on them.

• visiting individuals in a nursing home.

• taking meals to a family when a parent is sick.

• helping someone who is out of work find a job.

• watching children so their mother can have a day to herself.

Jesus demonstrated mercy when He responded to two blind men who persistently followed Him. After ascertaining their faith, He touched their eyes, giving them sight. He didn’t have to do so, but He reached out with mercy to alleviate their hardship. 

Insight: Will you ask the Lord to make you more aware of the needs others have? Will you make yourself available to show your Father’s mercy to them?