Mercy and Salvation

Oh, woe for us! “There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when He judges you.” (James 2.13) Similar to Christ’s teaching on what to pray or how to pray—“...forgive us in same way, to the same extent we forgive others...”—this implies that if we’re not merciful, we will not receive any mercy. Or anyone else who doesn’t show mercy will not receive mercy. Only the merciful will receive mercy. “Blessed are the merciful for they will receive mercy,” according to Y’shua the Christ (Matthew 5.7).

How do you show mercy, that is not punishing someone who deserves punishment? [In case you’re confused about the difference between grace and mercy: grace is receiving a ‘reward’ or blessing you haven’t earned while mercy is not getting the punishment you deserve for a wrongdoing you’ve committed.] When someone else insults you, how often do you respond in thought or word with an insult? When someone else manipulates the system or the bosses so that they appear more promotable or worthy of a pay increase than you, how often are you seeking ways to sabotage them or ‘bring out the truth’ about their inability or political nature? How often do you gossip maliciously such that you’ve damaged someone else’s reputation in order to look better yourself—and you’re probably only gossiping about a perceived enemy?

You’ve have been given great mercy. Extend some to others.