20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. (Titus)
There is this sense in which God's mercy toward us is "not yet." Like the other salvation blessings that we have in the risen Christ, we have not yet fully seen what it all entails. Whereas Christ has come in mercy, reaching down to a world lost in sin, God's mercy is something that will not fully be experienced until the day of judgment. Secondly, mercy is a matter of the mind - choices we make and attitudes we demonstrate. God, out of His character, chooses to look upon us with compassion and care about us. Rather than turning away from the mess, He looks on us and cries. Finally, true mercy acts, comes up with a plan, does something practical to meet the miserable in their need. Mercy is willing to get your hands dirty, but not joining in the deeds that get others that way. It is taking the chance of being misunderstood, taken advantage of, and even harmed by those we are willing to help. Mercy is very rare in the world today. Will we be His vessels of mercy?
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