Be Merciful: Gospel Today Devotional - 26th July

Memory Verse: “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” -  Luke 6:36 (KJV)

Throughout this series, our hearts have been shaped by the Scriptures in a most wonderful way. We have not only seen the instructions God has given us as believers, but by His grace, we have also been learning to maintain a posture of obedience toward them. The Lord, I am glad to say, is not yet done with us. There are still more instructions He wants us to see from His Word.

In our previous lesson, we considered the truth that people often expect children to resemble their parents - not merely in facial features, but in character and conduct. When someone says, "You behave just like your father," it is usually because extended time spent in a father's presence has shaped the child's habits and dispositions in ways that go beyond conscious imitation. That is how it works in the natural, and God intends something similar in the spiritual.

Read: Today, 26th July in Christian History

We established in our last lesson that God has many attributes He desires to see reproduced in His children, and we looked at holiness. Today, we turn to another of those divine attributes, along with the instruction that accompanies it. Consider the following passages:

• “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.” -  Psalm 103:8 (KJV)
• “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” -  Luke 6:36 (KJV)

What does it mean to show mercy? Let us illustrate it simply. If a person has done something wrong, and all the evidence stands against them making it clear they deserve punishment, and yet that punishment is withheld and compassion is shown instead, that is mercy. The one who extends mercy chooses to pardon where judgment would have been warranted.

Now, the Scripture tells us plainly that this is the nature of God. He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. Notice that He does not merely perform acts of mercy from time to time - He is merciful in His very nature. This is why His anger is slow: His mercy holds it back. This is why the sinner is given time to repent, and why the believer who has stumbled is given opportunity to be restored. God's mercy never grows weary and never runs dry - indeed, the Scripture declares that the mercy of God endures forever (Psalm 136:1).

Three things stand out from these passages: God is merciful by nature; His mercy restrains His anger; and His mercy has no end.

Now here is where the instruction comes in. If God, who has begotten us, is merciful - if He extends compassion even to the evil and the unthankful (Luke 6:35) - then we, as His children, are called to be merciful in the same way. The command in Luke 6:36 is not vague: “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” The standard set before us is the mercy of God Himself.

This is the instruction for today. Will you obey it? May the Lord, by His grace, work this quality so deeply into our hearts that we extend mercy not grudgingly, but freely - the way our Father does.

Amen.

Daily Reflection

Mercy is perhaps one of the most countercultural virtues a believer can display. In a world that often runs on the principle of getting what you deserve - or making sure others get what they deserve - the call to be merciful cuts against the grain. Yet that is precisely what God asks of us, and He asks it on the basis of who He is and who we now are in Him.

Think about the last time someone wronged you, frustrated you, or disappointed you. Was your first instinct mercy or judgment? The truth is, we find mercy difficult because we forget what mercy has been shown to us. Every single day that we live and breathe is a day given to us by a God who, in His mercy, has not dealt with us according to our sins (Psalm 103:10). When that reality settles in our hearts, it becomes easier and indeed, natural to extend the same grace to others.

Ask the Lord today to make you genuinely merciful: not as a performance, but as a reflection of whose you are.

“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” - (Matthew 5:7)

Prayer Session

Gracious Father, I come before You today in humility, mindful of the countless times Your mercy has covered me. You are merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and rich in compassion. You have not dealt with me according to my sins, and I am deeply grateful.

Forgive me, Lord, for the times I have been quick to judge and slow to forgive - for the moments I have withheld from others the very grace You have so generously shown me. I confess that mercy does not always come naturally to me, and I need Your help.

Work in me, Lord, the same mercy that defines You. Let it not be a strained or reluctant mercy, but one that flows freely from a heart that truly understands what it has been given. Help me to see the people around me - the difficult ones, the ones who have wronged me, the ones who seem undeserving - through Your eyes.

As I go through this day, may I be a tangible expression of Your mercy to someone who needs it. Let my life reflect the nature of my Father.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

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