It's the Word straight from the mouth of our Lord
Jesus Christ! (Mat 5:7 NASB) "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall
receive mercy."
I am reminded of an incident in the life of our Lord.
It is found in John 8:3-11.
(John 8:3-11 NKJV)
{3} "Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in
adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, {4} they said to Him,
"Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. {5} "Now
Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do
You say?" {6} This they said, testing Him, that they might have something
of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground
with His finger, as though He did not hear. {7} So when they continued
asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin
among you, let him throw a stone at her first." {8} And again He stooped
down and wrote on the ground. {9} Then those who heard it, being convicted
by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even
to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the
midst. {10} When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman,
He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one
condemned you?" {11} She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her,
"Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."
Isn't it remarkable that our Lord, being the perfect
man without sin, did not condemn the woman but forgave her! He did not deny
her sin, nor overlook it. He forgave it. He also told her to go and sin no
more, and it is the conviction of my heart that this mercy and compassion of
our Lord gave her grace to no longer commit the sin of adultery.
Mercy is part of the character of God Himself. The
Word declares, (Luke 6:36 NASB) "Be merciful, just as your Father is
merciful." If we are predestined to be conformed to the image of God's Son
(Rom. 8:29), then God gives us grace to be merciful.
Mercy is demonstrated most clearly in relationship to
judging. When the Word declares (Mat 7:1) "Judge not, that you be not
judged" it is declaring a Divine law, the law of sowing and reaping. The
next verse makes this plain when it says (Mat 7:2) "For with what judgment you
judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured
back to you."
Judgment on our part is one of the deadliest sins we
can commit for it seems to present the most opportunity. I think the worst
judgment expressed in the carnal heart is when we judge another person in
their life and motives. The great sin in it is that we usurp the place of God.
Rom 14:4 declares "Who
are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls.
Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand."
The sin of judging has its root in the kingdom of self
because we assume we are worthy and qualified to judge, are spiritually and
morally superior to the one we judge. The conclusion of the statement made by
Jesus in Matthew 7 concerning judging really brings the matter to light.
(Mat 7:3-5 NKJV)
{3} "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not
consider the plank in your own eye? {4} "Or how can you say to your
brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in
your own eye? {5} "Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye,
and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's
eye."
It also seems that the harshest judgment comes when we
are offended by another, especially by another Christian. We want to point out
all the sin that we (think we) see on their part and feel smug and justified
in our judgment. It is most difficult to obey the Word judge not that you
be not judged because we have the right to judge since we are the
offended. I believe this is one of those times when we can truly bring glory
to our heavenly Father and our Lord by forgiving and showing mercy toward the
offender. It is also demonstrating the love of the Lord, for the Word says (1
Cor 13:5 NASB) " (love) does not act
unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into
account a wrong suffered, ..."
It is inevitable that we see things in others, even as
others see things in us. But, this brings the Godly opportunity to be
merciful. If we can see that the Lord loves them as much as He does us and
spend as much of ourselves in blessing and praying for them as we do in
judging them, I am convinced we will begin to see great miracles, not only in
the lives of those we judge but in our own lives as well. We will see the
miracle in both in becoming more like Jesus. And that, dear saints, is
gloriously better than judging!!!
Selah.
