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Mercy and Compassion
September 21, 2013

In the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles, a time that looks forward to the Kingdom of God, it is reflective for Christians to consider mercy and compassion, as God and Jesus have shown mercy and compassion to us and mankind. Without mercy and compassion there would be no hope for us as individuals nor would there be hope for mankind. The good news is there is hope for us and there is hope for mankind, not because of who we are or what mankind may do, but because of the mercy and compassion shown to us. The greatest act of love, mercy and compassion ever shown was when Jesus was sacrificed for our sins so that we could all live.

John 15:9-17
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another.

The commandment that Jesus gave to us was to love one another, so that we may be his friends so that we can also abide in the love of the Father, by keeping the commandments that Jesus kept. Jesus did not subjugate himself to the interpretations of a man, but what was commanded by God through scripture. Jesus lived a life without sin and is a role model for us all to emulate. The truth for me is I come up short all the time, and because I am not perfect, I have come to value the mercy and compassion shown to me, and I know others feel the very same. For those of us who value mercy and compassion, it is equally valuable for us to extend mercy and compassion to others. Mercy and compassion were concepts introduced to the Children of Israel through the mercy seat near the ark of the testimony.

Exodus 25:15-22
The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

The mercy seat was where God intended to commune with the Children of Israel. The Cherubim on either side of the mercy seat with wings stretched above were placed to proclaim the majesty of God. Even during a time that modern Christianity views when God was harsh and cruel, mercy was an important concept for God, showing us now that from the very beginning of time, compassion was a need, and if it was a need for God and a need for Jesus, compassion is a need for us to both receive and give. The difference between mercy and compassion is mercy is extended or received where there is guilt or transgression of the law. Compassion is extended or received where there is no guilt or transgression of the law.

Romans 9:14-24
What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

It is God's prerogative to extend mercy and compassion when his laws and commandments are violated. It is Jesus' prerogative to extend mercy and compassion when his commandment to love one another is not followed. It is our prerogative to extend mercy when what is important to us is violated. But nothing in these verses show us us to withhold mercy and compassion towards others who are violating the laws and commandments of God and the commandment of Jesus. Instead, even though we may recognize that there is a violation of the laws and commandments of God and the commandment of Jesus, because we would want mercy and compassion extended to us, we must extend mercy and compassion to others. The more we extend mercy and compassion to others, the more we will be able to celebrate what is good, embrace what is good, and do what is good.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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