Imperfection and Mercy – a Critical Combination

In some personal time with the Lord this week and subsequently in my study, Jesus’ words in His Sermon on the Plain kept coming back to me. Sometimes in personal reading and devotions, a passage continues to draw you into further contemplation. Jesus’ words did that this week. In this post, I want to share with you His teaching with a few observations I have made this week after it. As a familiar text to all of us, let me encourage you to read it a bit slowly to see how much Jesus packs into this section of instruction. While you read it, consider the two terms imperfection and mercy.

Jesus Teaches the Disciples

Jesus talks to His disciples (not to the crowd particularly, but those who follow Him) [Luke 7:27-45]:

²⁷ “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. ²⁹ To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. ³¹ And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

³² “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. ³⁶ Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

Do Not Judge

³⁷ “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

³⁹ And He spoke a parable to them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? ⁴⁰ A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. ⁴¹ And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? ⁴² Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

⁴³ “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴ For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. ⁴⁵ A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Observations for Our Daily Living

I entitled today’s blog, Imperfection and Mercy – a Critical Combination, because of the challenge here. Consider the following observations:

1. One of the critical lines in the entire text: “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”
   Mercy refers to treating someone not as they deserve. As Jesus explains, love your enemy. When someone has hurt you, disappointed you, made life hard for you, sinned against you, or whatever that looks like in a particular moment or with a particular person, Jesus teaches to have mercy. What kind of mercy? God’s kind. Just as God grants us great mercy, we then are to grant other people great mercy. 
2. How does mercy play out? Love your enemies. Do good to those who disappoint you, frustrate you, or otherwise act like an enemy. Jesus says it, “Therefore be merciful.” Most of the people in our lives when we struggle are not enemies. In other words, often their family, extended family, church family, co-workers, neighbors, and others who we know and/or with whom we have a relationship. For those who are also Christians, they certainly are not our enemies, although they may still sin against us. So, get this with me. If Jesus says to love our enemies which demonstrates God’s kind of mercy to them, how much more should we love those who are not our enemies, motivated by God’s mercy.
3. Judging others. Condemning others. A failure to forgive others. A closed heart toward others. All four of these actions come from a heart which is disconnected functionally from God’s mercy. In other words, I will judge, I will condemn, I will not forgive, and I will have a closed heart toward another person when I fail to recognize God’s mercy to me personally. If I fail to see myself properly through the Gospel, then I will do all of these things. Therefore, when I catch myself doing these things, I must go back to the Gospel.
4. In order to demonstrate mercy, I must recall God’s mercy. Clearly this is part of the call to check your own heart before you decide to help others. Any long look at one’s heart will reveal sin and places of struggle – or at least places where God has demonstrated mercy. When I see these things clearly, then I can demonstrate mercy to others. The more aware I am of God’s mercy toward me through Jesus and the Gospel, the better capable I will be at granting that mercy to others.
5. Jesus provides us a way to test our heart for its connection with mercy. We should ask: What am I saying? What am I thinking? How am I treating others? What is my attitude? All of these answers help demonstrate what is going on in my heart. The fruit on my tree reveals the root. If I am angry, what is the root? Condemning? Not forgiving? Or whatever it may be in a particular moment, what root accompanies it?
6. Jesus says, “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.” And what is that? Demonstrate mercy, kindness, understanding, grace, consideration, compassion, and love.
7. Where I struggle doing any of those things, that is on me. I cannot blame another person for that which I am responsible. Instead, I treat them with the mercy I would desire in the same situation. The mercy which flows out of the mercy I receive from God. 

Fascinating, isn’t it?

Horizontal relationships are connected to our vertical relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

I can love, forgive, serve, and show mercy in various ways when I have noticed my own great need for mercy. I can treat others the way I would want to be treated.

Imperfection and Mercy. How does this connect to imperfect people?

God grants us mercy in Christ. All of us who are imperfect receive God’s mercy. The saved in incredible ways. Those who are lost, they still receive mercy on this side of death.

We grant others mercy in Christ. What others? Imperfect others. You nor I will ever be called to grant mercy to perfect people. Instead, we will have wished they were perfect, have wished they had done something differently, had wished they had honored God, had wished they had made a better decision, and had wished we were not placed upon to show mercy. However, every person we know needs mercy. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot.

Imperfect people receive mercy from God and grant that mercy to other imperfect people.

Do they do this perfectly? Absolutely not. Again, we are imperfect.

That’s why we are so glad that Jesus said to treat others (who are imperfect) the way you would want to be treated (as imperfect).

Friends, this is mercy.

There you have it. I am grateful that God brought me to this text this week in my study. It has challenged me. I hope you will be encouraged by it as well.