Here’s What Mercy Really Looks Like… (Daily Refresh, 8-10-26)

What would you do if you ran into someone who offended, upset, or greatly wronged you? 

The Pharisees in Jesus’ time taught that it was excessive to forgive someone more than three times. But Jesus’ teachings set a standard for extravagant forgiveness. He emphasized that we should forgive others generously and continuously.

The outward expression of forgiveness can look different for everyone, but true forgiveness should offer mercy and compassion to those who hurt us. 

Forgiveness isn’t easy. Showing compassion to someone who hurt us goes against our natural desire. At times, it can even feel overwhelming, unfair, and impossible. But showing someone undeserved forgiveness and compassion is what mercy is … and it’s what Jesus does for us.  

God so loved the world that—despite our constant mistakes and continual rejection of His presence—He sent His only Son, Jesus, to die for us. Although we didn’t deserve His forgiveness or love, He offered it to us anyways. And now, anyone who believes in Jesus can receive unlimited mercy and unmerited grace.  

It’s because God freely offers us mercy that He asks us to show mercy also. 

The world will tell you to hold onto your hurt and allow it to shape you. But Jesus wants to release you from the pain of your past by changing your heart’s posture toward others. This isn’t easy—it is often an act of continual, painful surrender. But Jesus doesn’t expect us to go through the process of forgiveness alone. He offers to help us if we are willing to trust Him and honor His teachings.

Jesus isn’t asking us to do anything that He hasn’t already done for us. And when we offer mercy to someone who has wounded us, we illustrate how God’s forgiveness has impacted us.  

So is there anyone you can offer mercy and forgiveness to today? Spend some time with God, ask Him to search your heart, and give Him any hurt you’ve been carrying.

My Thoughts

Forgiveness is more than letting go of the hurt and the anger and the betrayal you feel. It is also extending mercy and compassion to the person who hurt you. It is wanting God’s best for them even though they hurt you.

For many years, I thought that I was forgiving when I just said the words every time a person and their past transgression against me came up in my mind. I would just say to myself, “I have forgiven them. It’s in God’s hands now” and try to move on. But I found that I never really moved on until I acted in love towards that person. Include them in an invitation? So hard…but so necessary! Offer to help them when you see that they are struggling? Yes, that too. Whatever it takes to show the mercy and compassion that Jesus gave to us is what we should be doing. I will not say it’s easy but I will say that the feeling you will get afterwards of freedom from a burden you have been carrying is worth it. I will not say either that I have arrived and practice mercy and compassion all the time. That wouldn’t be true because God is still working in my heart and life to make me more like Him and this is something that needs a lot of work. I am more prone to say under my breath, “Go get ’em, God” than I am to ask God to help me forgive completely.

People will always fail us because that’s what they do. We have expectations, they fall short and we hold a grudge. If God held a grudge against us every time we fell short of His standard, I am not sure that Heaven would be populated at all with any of us. But God doesn’t hold grudges. He constantly forgives us and prods us to do likewise. When we say to ourselves that that person doesn’t deserve forgiveness, remember that neither do we. And forgive them with an open heart of mercy and compassion, just as Jesus forgave us.