How Do We Nurture A Heart Of Mercy?
Good Morning Friends,
Most people’s emotions are terribly broken and the thing is that people do not even realize it. I am not writing about people with post-traumatic stress or mental illness but the sickness of the average person on the street who ignores people in need, walks past them and does not know how broken they have become by choosing such a course of action. It is something that concerned Hosea in his prophetic comments about true and false repentance. It is something that concerns Jesus too and should concern us all and so prompts today’s question: How Do We Nurture A Heart Of Mercy?
Scripture: “Come, let us return to the Lord; for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth.” What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early. Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have killed them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light. For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Hosea 6:1-6 (NRSV)
After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up, left everything, and followed him.
Luke 5:27-28 (NRSV)
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Luke 18:9-14 (NRSV)
“Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”
Matthew 9:13 (NRSV)
Message: Of all the world religions the one thing that separates the Christian faith is the grace of our God to be merciful. And we see that played out in today’s scripture and particularly in the life of Matthew. You see Matthew’s family name was Levi. His family was responsible for worship but his heritage was also associated with a curse of those with unrestrained anger. He became an apostle and wrote the gospel that carries his name. But when he met Jesus, he was far from that. He was a tax collector. And tax collectors were hated by their fellow Jews. They were viewed as traitors because they collected taxes for the Roman government. It was a very profitable profession, but it was known for its corruption and the Jews despised them. So, when Jesus offers mercy to Matthew as recorded in Luke, it is at a very emotional level that surely touched Matthew’s heart. For us to nurture such mercy in our lives we need to realize the priority with God is people and indeed vulnerable people, despised people that might otherwise be ignored. The message here is about those who admit that they have a broken heart that needs healing. You see, God wants us to have a heart that is tender and merciful toward other people, not just a religious or political system that keeps certain rules and regulations. We need to realize that the purpose of the commandments is to guide us in understanding how to love and that legalism can distort the significance of the things God wants us to embrace. You see, Jesus had a different mindset toward people. And with this priority in mind Jesus wants us to take care of the weighty matters of justice and mercy in our dealings with other. It is not wrong to discriminate between good and evil, but the overarching desire is to develop a heart that loves others in need in a way that glorifies God. So, friends, we need to understand that God’s priorities are about people not rules…about love not sacrifice. So in summary we need to understand that God’s commandments are for our wellbeing. We are to acknowledge our own need for mercy and finally realize that God’s nature is one of love that we are to emulate.
Pray we turn to God. Pray we become partakers of heavenly bread by nurturing a heart of mercy. Pray God declare the power of grace and love in our lives by granting us a heart that shows forth mercy. Pray we discover the divine nature of forgiveness…even discovering it when it comes to forgiving ourselves. Pray we admit our guilt and thirst for the grace of a living God. Pray we not resent the restrictions God places on our behavior. Pray we abide in the love of Jesus. Pray we take an honest look at ourselves and realize that the cure is to work on getting the plank out of our own eyes. Pray we stay filled with the Holy Spirit. Pray we realize that love is not some sloppy emotion but is mercy put into action.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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