Merciful Receive Mercy

And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” (NASB).” Matt 20:30-31

The New Testament never tells us that bankers, politicians, doctors or the religious leaders asked Jesus for mercy. They did not think they had needs. Those who asked for mercy were those who could not help themselves: four blind men, a demon possessed daughter and a lunatic son. Yet, Jesus showed mercy to others as well: to an adulterous woman, a woman at a well, to lepers and to a Roman soldier whose ear was cut off. God shows mercy to those who suffer.

God’s Mercy. Luke 1:50 says that God shows mercy to those who “are fearing Him.” There are some people in this world who do not really care if there is a God until they are in real trouble and then they reach out to God for mercy. God’s major act of mercy is forgiving the sins of spiritually blind men and women. None of us can help ourselves here! We are born spiritually blind and nothing we do will please God. Romans 3:11-12 says that no one seeks for God and no one can do any anything to please God. We are all going to hell (John 3:18-20). Titus 3:5 tells us that God saves us not because of any good deeds we do, but because He is merciful. You see we cannot help ourselves, yet He chooses to show Christians mercy. There is nothing here for Christians to boast about. This is God’s big act of mercy.

To Christians, God continues to show us mercy at times of great personal need but NOT just when we want it. Hebrews 4:16 tells us to draw near to God “that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (NKJV).” Did you notice that He “helps” in “time of need?” The Greek word used for “help” has the idea of “rushing to us to help us go through the trouble” and “time of need” has the idea of “at the strategic time." You may ask, “What kind of help does Jesus offer?” The answer is that He hurries to help us through our difficult times at just the right time. Not at the time we want. He may leave you blind for awhile. He may leave you in pain for awhile. He may let you suffer. He may allow your marriage to struggle or leave you childless, like Hannah, for awhile because He is growing you spiritually (James 1:2-8. But at the right time - at the best time - He will heal your eyes, relieve your pain or heal your marriage. God is in the business of healing broken hearts. We do not deserve what we receive from Him. He is merciful . . .

Did you know that God even wants you to show mercy to your animals? Proverbs 12:10 says,

A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast, But the compassion of the wicked is cruel. (NASB) Prov. 12:10

Mercy for the poor is another passion of God. Prov. 14:21, 31 says,

He who despises his neighbor sins; But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.” “He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy.” (NKJV) Prov. 14;21, 31