he way God deals with us is to replace our old nature with His new nature. That means even if you think you “don’t have the gift of mercy,” God is transforming you into a new person… Increasingly remaking you into His image. Mercy is who HE is, and it is who you are becoming.
Life group discussions after the link!
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Have you ever heard someone say, “Mercy is not my spiritual gift?” What do people mean by that?
“if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”
-Romans 12:8
So, Romans seems to imply that showing kindness, or having mercy, is a legit spiritual gift. Does that mean that those of us who “don’t have it” are off the hook? Why or why not?
“God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
-Jesus, Matthew 5:7
What does this verse imply about those who show mercy? Do we earn God’s forgiveness by forgiving others?
Why must mercy be a quality that characterizes anyone who follows Christ?
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
-Romans 5:8
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)
-Ephesians 2:4-5
How have you and I been shown mercy?
Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.
But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.
But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.
His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.
When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.
That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”
-Jesus, Matthew 18:21-35
What was the master originally going to do with the debtor who owed millions?
At the time, this would have been within his legal rights. Think about it… This debtor deserved to be sold. For his wife to be sold. For his children to be sold. To literally lose everyone and everything precious to him in his life. That was the weight of his debt.
What does this parable teach us about God’s mercy?
Why do you think the debtor in the parable was so harsh with the one who owed him just a few thousand dollars?
How is that like us?
What would it look like for you to show mercy this week?