Mercy

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:35, 36 ESV)

 Be merciful, even as the Father is merciful.

It is said that Grace is getting what you don't deserve and Mercy is not getting what you do deserve. What does mercy mean to you? 

Amazing Grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. How can I understand why God would ever love human beings enough to send His precious Son to give His life in my place? 

It should be me dying for my sins. I don't even deserve to draw another breath. 

I desire a close, intimate relationship with God but the very next moment, I am getting distracted from my prayer with Him. I want to be a good example but find myself falling into meanness or gossip. I strive to be kind and caring and then lose my temper. I fall so short in my vain attempts to be pleasing to Him. Thank God for grace. He gives what I don't deserve. A chance to stand before Him, holy and blameless because all He sees is me covered in the blood of Jesus's love for me.

I am not worthy of God's noticing me. Who am I that He should care about me at all? I fail each day, many times, yet God extends His mercy to me. 

He loves me. He is good to me. He treats me as a child. He has big plans for me. He has all of Heaven cheering me on. 

God wants me to be merciful to others that don't deserve it. He wants me to extend love, goodness and kindness to them. 

Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. "B ut if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." (Romans 12:17, 20 NASB)

None of us want to ever be in the position of actually being nice to our enemies, do we? Can you imagine yourself being good about that? 

That is mercy. God says, Be merciful, even as He is merciful. 

What if God only forgave you by the amount that you forgive your enemies?