Forgiveness: The Heart of Mercy

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." -- Ephesians 4:32

Remember the story Jesus shared about the man who owed millions and millions of dollars to the king (Matthew 18:23-35)? The king said, "You're going to pay." And the man said, "I can't pay." So the king forgave him of his debt. But that man, who had been forgiven a great debt, went to someone who owed him just $20 or $40. He grabbed him by the throat and said, "You'll pay me what you owe me!" When the king found out, he pulled the man back in and said, "No, you're going to pay every penny that you owe me because you did not express that mercy, that forgiveness to someone else."

Jesus was warning each of us. He was saying that a child of God has been forgiven so much from the courtroom of heaven, and therefore, we ought to be able to forgive someone else, especially one another.

The first four beatitudes describe our relationship with God, and then the fifth one transitions to how we express that mercy to others. Proper passion for God will lead to proper compassion for our fellow man.

How do you deepen and develop in this mercy?

First, remember that God is merciful. Lamentations 3:22 describes God as a God of compassion. It says, "Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not." Hebrews 4:16 says, "Let us come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Our God is a merciful God, full of grace.

Second, have you experienced the mercy of God? Have you experienced the salvation of your own soul? Is this real to you? You've experienced God's love. You've experienced God's mercy. What you realize is that you can give it because you have it, and that's the only reason you can give it. You can forgive someone from your heart who has hurt you because you have God's love poured out within you.

You say, "I don't know if I can love like that." Take 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Read it and pray through it out loud every night for 30 days.

1 Corinthians 13:4–8 (Amplified Version)
4 Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
5 It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
6 It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
7 Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
8 Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]....

As you personalize 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, say this about yourself:

"I endure long and am patient and kind; I never am envious nor boil over with jealousy, am not boastful or vainglorious, do not display myself haughtily.

I am not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); I am not rude (unmannerly) and do not act unbecomingly. I (with God's love in me) do not insist on my own rights or my own way, for I am not self-seeking; I am not touchy or fretful or resentful; I take no account of the evil done to me [I pay no attention to a suffered wrong].

I do not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoice when right and truth prevail.
I bear up under anything and everything that comes, am ever ready to believe the best of every person, my hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and I endure everything [without weakening].

My love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]."

Romans 5:5 says the love of God has been shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Spirit. His love is inside the child of God. 1 Corinthians 13 is the description of that love. This is what God's love inside of you looks like when expressed through your life. Read and pray this personalized version out loud every night for 30 days, and you'll begin to see God's love manifesting more clearly through you in a powerful way. You'll see that God's love is truly present. You can give it because you have it.

And third, the more you give mercy, the more you'll receive it. Do you know none of us are perfect? I'm not perfect. All of us make mistakes. Perhaps this week you'll make a mistake and you'll want somebody to be merciful to you.

God's word teaches in James 2:13 that the person who is not merciful, mercy will not be given to them. The reverse is also true. The more you give in mercy, the more it will return to you. The more you're gracious to someone else, the more grace will be given to you.

God wants you to be forgiven, not just by Him, but He wants you to be forgiven by your fellow man. And you'll need it one day. So He says, give it today because one day you're going to need it yourself.

Reflection Question: Is there someone in your life you need to forgive? Remember how much God has forgiven you. How can extending forgiveness to others help you experience more of God's mercy in your own life?

Dear God, I thank You so much that I have experienced Your forgiveness and mercy poured out for me. Help me to truly understand how merciful You've been toward me. I pray that it will work itself out in my life, and I will be known as someone who is merciful, forgiving, patient, and who loves others unconditionally. I can forgive because I have been forgiven. Help me to extend Your mercy to everyone I meet. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Check out the sermon "Compassion in Action":  https://www.joshfranklin.org/media/kpnmqdv/5-compassion-in-action