Devotions

The first cost of mercy to Jesus was His heavenly position. Mercy moved Him to come to earth to take on human flesh and, ultimately, the mercy He offered to the world cost Him His life. Yet Jesus’ example of mercy is a model to all who would follow Him. He tells us, in essence, “Let My life show you the cost of mercy — total rejection by this world.”

The apostle Paul paid the same high cost of living out God’s mercy that Jesus paid on earth and that He warned us about:

“Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20).

Paul testified to this truth:

“[We] labor, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring [scum] of all things unto this day” (1 Corinthians 4:12–13).

A DIFFICULT TRUTH

What are we to make of this rejection? Jesus answers us: “Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for behold, your reward is great in heaven” (Luke 6:23).

This is a difficult truth to swallow. How can we rejoice and be glad when we endure harsh persecution? Beloved, it is all part of the high cost of mercy. As it was with Paul, who was seen as filth, so it is for Christ’s Body, the Church. There is a price we all must pay when we preach Jesus and His mercy.

Even in your sinful bondage, your heart’s cry reached Jesus and His tender mercy found you. He opened your eyes, changed you, and filled you with His Holy Spirit. Then He made you a vessel of honor to proclaim His gospel.

Make no mistake: it is a costly mercy you have received. We preach that God’s mercy is free, that it is unmerited, and that the price for it was paid in full by Christ’s shed blood. And, indeed, all this is true. God is fully satisfied by the price Jesus paid to bring us His mercy, give us the inheritance of heaven, and assure us that we have eternal life.

Yet there is a price on the human side — our side — of God’s mercy. What is the cost to us? It is the high cost of becoming a true witness to the power of the mercy we have received. The fact is, offering the same mercy that has been given to us will cost us dearly here on earth. It is a cost we can expect to pay in our everyday life.

CHRIST’S EXAMPLE

You see, Jesus commands us, “Be merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (see Luke 6:36). And, as Christ showed by example, to be merciful as the Father is merciful is very costly. The more Christ is exalted in our lives, the more we will experience the following from the world:

• Total rejection
• Unacceptance of our words
• Ridicule and rejection of God’s mercy

Jesus paid the price of mercy in His flesh and you and I can expect to pay a price, as well.

“Love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:35-36, my italics).

Throughout the Bible, a powerful theme rings out: “The Lord thy God is a merciful God” (Deuteronomy 4:31). This theme of mercy (leniency, compassion, forgiveness) is at the very core of the Old Testament. We read it again and again in Deuteronomy, Chronicles, Nehemiah and Psalms: “The Lord your God is gracious and merciful.” Likewise, we see the same theme of mercy in each of the Gospels and throughout the New Testament.

A SACRIFICE OF GREAT WORTH

When God looked down at the outbreak of debauchery on the earth, He did not turn away from His creation. He did not give up on this sinful, godless, lust-consumed world — and the Scriptures tell us something of what His mercy to a sinful world cost Him. He sent His own Son down into our midst and then in His tender mercy, the Father offered up His Son as a sacrifice, laying on Christ the iniquities of us all.

Think of the high cost of mercy that Jesus paid. The weight of such a price simply cannot be calculated. No one can measure Christ’s pain at taking upon Himself the sins of the world.

Scripture says the angels look down on us and marvel at the gift we’ve been given. Think about it: It is one thing to offer physical healing to someone and it is quite another to offer abundant life for this world and salvation for all eternity. Jesus gives us all the resources of heaven to deliver this Good News in truth and power:

“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13-14).

When we read this verse, we think of the amazing scale of Jesus’ miracles. But Jesus is speaking of kingdom activity — salvation, transformation, abundant life. When He says, “Whatever you ask in My name,” our request will be revealing. Do we ask for miracles because we think they will bring visible glory to God? Or do we ask for kingdom results no matter how small the scale?

GREATER WORKS

According to Jesus, there is only one qualification to do the greater works He speaks of: “Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works” (John 14:12, my emphasis). Every Christian believes, so that means we all are capable of doing the greater works Jesus has ordained for us.

A CLEAN HEART

But to do these works, we must have a clean heart. The very next thing Jesus says is, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (14:15). If our hearts are cleansed, our obedience will not be grudging but an act of love.

Do you have trouble keeping God’s Word? Jesus’ promise to you is:

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth” (14:16-17).

Note the word “Helper” here. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus gives us the help we need to obey Him.

As we already know, the Christian church was born when the Holy Spirit was poured out. Amazingly, in the hours afterward, thousands of people converted to the faith, and the new believers fell into an inspired new rhythm of congregational life. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42).

In the beginning, Christian doctrine was transmitted orally since there wasn’t a written New Testament. The apostles spoke the gospel and the associated teachings they heard from Jesus.  This was the Word of God that the early believers “devoted themselves to.”

That kind of dedication to the Word is always a vital sign that the Holy Spirit is moving in the life of a person or a church. Believers have a hunger to hear, read, study, and in particular, understand more about the Word of God.

That makes sense, of course, since the Holy Spirit was the one who inspired the Bible. He was the author who inspired the writers. The Bible is His book. Spirit-controlled Christians don’t usually have to force themselves to read the Bible; the Spirit gives them a holy appetite for it.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, so He will always direct us toward God’s truth. When a person has little interest in the Word, or when Scripture seems dull and tedious to a church body, that is a sign that something is seriously out of sync. When we don’t have respect for the Word and reverence for its authority, and when we don’t humble ourselves to hear what God has said, we’re on the wrong path.

I know it is possible today to gather large numbers of people together on a Sunday without a strong emphasis on the Word. In fact, many of the people sitting in the pew might be totally content without hearing careful Bible preaching and exposition. But when we wander away from the Word, thinking we can live without it day after day, week after week, we cease to grow spiritually and open ourselves to spiritual deception.  The apostle Peter wrote, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation” (1 Peter 2:2, emphasis added). The Word of God contains the vital spiritual nutrients we need—every day—to grow in Christ.

Jim Cymbala began the Brooklyn Tabernacle with less than twenty members in a small, rundown building in a difficult part of the city. A native of Brooklyn, he is a longtime friend of both David and Gary Wilkerson.