A Culture Of Mercy

Read: Matthew 18:21-35

The Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. Matthew 18:23

IN WORD

Peter asked Jesus a question about forgiveness and how far it should be extended to an offender. Jesus answered with a Kingdom parable about a servant who was called in to pay an enormous debt. Unable to pay, he pleaded for mercy. After the master forgave the debt, the man went out and demanded the payment of minor debts owed to him. Having received extravagant mercy, he refused to offer even a hint of it to others. When the master heard about it, he became furious and handed the man over to debtor’s prison and its torturing jailers. He withdrew the mercy he had previously given.

The beginning of the parable is thoroughly comforting. We can be forgiven of enormous debts, offenses we could never repay on our own. God’s mercy is big enough to cover everything. But the parable takes a convicting turn, and Jesus’ closing line is chilling. Our King will withhold mercy from those who do not forgive each other from the heart. Superficial forgiveness isn’t enough. It has to be heartfelt.

That’s an extremely sobering thought. Most of us have been deeply wounded or offended by someone, and the thought of forgiveness is hard to grasp. We can say we forgive, but bitterness sometimes remains deep in our hearts. How can we overcome it? Only by knowing how deeply we’ve strayed from God and by embracing His all-encompassing forgiveness. We can’t extend radical mercy unless we’ve experienced it ourselves.

IN DEED

We have two choices: We can live in a culture of mercy, or we can live in a culture of judgment. We can’t apply one standard to ourselves and another to others. If we try, we reveal our true agenda: that we want to receive the benefits of God without giving them. But when we fail to recognize the Kingdom of mercy in all situations, have we really ever experienced it? If not, we need to dwell on the enormity of God’s forgiveness. He offers us freedom from judgment. We need to offer it too. That’s what His Kingdom is like.

ADDITIONAL READING: James 2:12-13

He that demands mercy and shows none ruins the bridge over which he himself is to pass.

THOMAS ADAMS