Luke 10.37 The
expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go
and do likewise.” – St. Luke
This exchange between Jesus and a Jewish lawyer Luke 10, comes
at the end of a discussion between the two after the lawyer asked Jesus, What must I do to inherit eternal life?
The man had asked Jesus to define what a neighbor was and Jesus told him the story
of the Good Samaritan.
A couple things: the lawyer wanted to know what to do. The lawyer wanted to know who a
neighbor was. Jesus helped him by pointing back to a principle He had shared in
Matthew 5 in the Sermon on the Mount: Blessed are the merciful because they
will be shown mercy. (Matthew 5.7) One
doesn’t do merciful but one can be merciful. Neighbors need mercy –
especially the ones that irritate us…
The Jews were always stumbling over what to do rather than who to be. Mercy is the outgrowth of a heart of
mercy. Mercy is giving someone, not what they deserve, but what they don’t deserve.
Mercy gives someone second chances in the hope that they too will become
merciful. We don’t do mercy; we are
merciful.
So, the lawyer was confronted with the condition of his
heart; and that is always what God is looking at when it comes to showing His mercy
to mankind: what’s the condition of your
own heart; as I have been merciful to you, are you merciful to others?
Back in Micah 6. Are these words:
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the
Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly
with your God.
Mercy plays a huge part in our relationship with God
because mercy demonstrates our consideration of our fellow man. Capital One
asks, What’s in your wallet? God
asks, What’s in your heart?
To the merciful
there will be shown mercy.
And in our lives, it is not a matter of do, or accomplishment; it is a matter of
be, or personality. Who are we? What
naturally comes out of our heart? Do we have a heart of mercy, or do we make
our enemy live up to his own rules? (Alinsky #4)
Now then, a heart of mercy is a heart that knows God and
understands (or is grateful for) His
mercy. A heart that knows God and lives according to God’s ways is a heart that
inherits eternal life. One cannot do
eternal; one must be eternal, and to
be eternal one must be God’s own child.
Father, there are
so many rules – what to do, how to do, what not to do. These things are the
result of the human production mentality. You don’t ask me to do, You ask me to
be. Lord, guide me this day to be. Guide me this day to treat others as I want
to be treated and to help them transcend doing and become being. Amen
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