Let Us Be Merciful

Luke 6:28

Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.

Strike back!  Respond in defense!  Prove that I am right!  All of these are natural human responses to conflict.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to follow a different standard.  "Love thy neighbor as thyself" requires a supernatural response when we run into personal conflict.  We are called to express the love of Christ in each instance.  This may require having to forgive the person in the heat of the conflict.  Only our strength through Jesus Christ allows us to meet this standard.

We need supernatural strength to respond in crisis.  Our human nature and our pride are generally not going to be sufficient.  When it comes to facing the day-to-day conflicts in our lives, the supernatural grace of God is required.  It is through His grace and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that we are able to consistently respond in a manner that reflects the discipline of a follower of Jesus Christ.

On the Cross, Jesus prayed that His murderers might be forgiven.  Stephen, the martyred disciple of Jesus, in his dying moments also showed us the standard to which we are called.  Let us be merciful just as Our Heavenly Father is merciful to us.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You loving us first so that we may love You and love those around us.  We thank You for the mercy that You extended to us through the redemptive blood of Your Son, Jesus, so that we may extend mercy to those who we come in conflict with us.  We thank You for forgiving us of our sins so that we may be able to forgive those who sin against us.  We pray, Father, for the grace and the strength to release to the world the overflow of the lovingkindness that You poured out on us. We ask all these things in the name of the Slain Lamb, Jesus Christ.