Mercy Could Be Your Greatest Witness - Daily Hope with Rick Warren - April 3, 2022
In an increasingly unkind world, showing mercy is the greatest Christian witness, as Jesus teaches in Luke 6:36. By looking for people's needs and not being offended by their sins, Christians can demonstrate unconditional love and show others what it means to be like Christ.
Mercy Could Be Your Greatest Witness By Rick Warren
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:36 (NIV)
In an increasingly unkind world, your greatest Christian witness is showing people mercy.
Have you noticed how unmerciful and unforgiving our world is? It seems the highest form of humor is the put-down. Even comedians get paid for their sarcastic and cynical jabs at others.
But when people see you showing mercy, especially considering how rude and mean society has become, they’ll say, “That’s what I expect a Christian to be like—like Jesus.”
Jesus says in Luke 6:36, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (NIV).
There are four things you can do to build a lifestyle of mercy. We’ll look at two today and two tomorrow.
Start looking and listening for people’s needs. Whose needs? The needs of people in your neighborhood, at your work, and in your family. Mercy always begins with awareness. If you’re not aware, then you don’t care.
The Bible says, “Look out for one another’s interests, not just for your own” (Philippians 2:4 GNT).
You don’t struggle to be merciful because you’re a bad person. It’s because you’re too busy. Busyness is the number one destroyer of mercy in your life. When you’re moving from event to event and task to task, it’s hard to pay attention to the people around you. And when you’re not looking and listening for people’s needs, it’s nearly impossible to be merciful.
Don’t be offended by the sins of others. You can’t say, “Go clean up your life, and then I will accept you.” No—mercy is unconditional! If you’re going to show mercy to people, you can’t be offended by them. You can’t minister to people if you’re looking down on them.
Jesus wasn’t offended by people’s sins. In fact, he hung out with the worst kinds of sinners. He was even accused of “guilt by association” because he spent time with people who were corrupt, unloving, and manipulative.
This doesn’t mean Jesus approved of everything they did. God doesn’t approve of everything you do, but he accepts you completely. Showing mercy doesn’t mean you say everything someone does is okay. Drug addiction and adultery, for example, are not okay.
But you can still show mercy. You can do for others what Christ has done for you.
“Most importantly, love each other deeply. Love has a way of not looking at others’ sins” (1 Peter 4:8 ICB).
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
Your Gift Brings Hope to the World
Thank you for helping restore broken hearts with the hope of Jesus!
I am so grateful to be on mission with you! Your gift today is a bold statement that you want to be a light in this world and make an eternal impact for Jesus Christ.
As thanks for your gift, we’re excited to send you the "Hope Is Born: A Christmas Scripture Collection" Scripture cards. This set of 52 beautifully designed cards brings the joy of the season to life, each sharing a powerful verse celebrating the hope and wonder of Jesus’ birth.
Request yours below when you give, and thank you for going on mission to reach our world with the love of Jesus!
*The USA IRS code permits you to deduct the amount of your financial gift to Daily Hope that exceeds the fair market value of “current offer” materials you received from Daily Hope.
_638979300394061748.webp)
