When Mercy Feels Unfair
Have you ever been angry that someone who hurt you received mercy instead of punishment? Or felt resentful when someone who "didn't deserve it" got a second chance? If so, you're in good company; the biblical prophet Jonah struggled with the same feelings.
As we conclude the book of Jonah, we find a surprising twist. After reluctantly preaching to the evil Ninevites, Jonah's message actually works! The entire city repents. But instead of celebrating this incredible spiritual transformation, Jonah is furious. He'd rather die than see his enemies receive God's mercy.
You Can Be Embraced by God's Mercy
Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Son gives us a powerful image of God's love and mercy: a big bear hug to welcome us home! We might live with the misconception that we have to earn God's mercy or do something to make up for what we've done wrong before we can receive it, but nothing could be further from the truth! The love and mercy of God is always available to us. All we have to do is come home.
And we don't have to clean ourselves up first! This wayward son was still in his filthy clothes, covered in pig slop, but his father ran to embrace him anyway. We don't have to clean ourselves up before we come home to God, either.
We also don't have to make excuses about why God should welcome us home. The son came with an elaborate speech, but his father didn't want his excuses. In the middle of his father's big bear hug, the son tries to give his speech about how he isn't worthy to be called a son anymore. I don't think his father even heard him! Before his son could finish speaking, the father is already giving orders to start the party.
Jesus said, "There is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents — who turns their life back to God — than over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent" (Luke 15:7). God throws a party in heaven when you come home!
You Can Be Transformed by God's Mercy
After Nineveh's repentance, Jonah sits outside the city, angry and sulking. Jonah believes himself worthy of God's mercy but thinks those evil Ninevites are too far gone to warrant the same mercy.
God asks Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry?" (Jonah 4:4). Then God provides an object lesson with a plant that gives Jonah shade, only to wither the next day. When Jonah gets upset about the plant, God points out the irony: "You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left?" (Jonah 4:10-11).
The good news is that God's mercy should be fundamentally transformational. When we are embraced by God's mercy and receive it for ourselves, it changes us. It allows us to see that we are in just as great a need for mercy, to not get what we deserve, as the people we think don't deserve it.
You Can Be Merciful to Others as God is Merciful to You
Jesus taught us: "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you... Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful" (Luke 6:27-28, 36).
The heart of God is full of love and mercy, and God wants to place that same heart within each one of us. As part of his rescue mission to bring us home, Jesus showed us what the heart of God is like and how we can live with that same heart in us.
This probably sounds like a lot to ask, but the good news is that Jesus doesn't ask us to do anything that he has not already done himself. And if Jesus could do it, then we can do it, not by our own strength, but because his Spirit empowers us, and the heart of his Father is alive in us!
Putting Mercy Into Practice
Start small: We don't have to start with our greatest pain. Practice mercy in everyday interactions with those around you.
Remember your own need: When we live each day aware of our own need for mercy, we'll be far more able to extend that same mercy to others.
Break the cycle: The power of mercy is that it stops the cycle of retribution that can characterize too many of our relationships.
Trust God with justice: Showing mercy removes from us the burden of having to mete out justice and helps us trust that in the end, God will set things right.
Like Jonah and the older brother in the Prodigal Son story, we have a choice: Will we resent God's mercy toward others, or will we celebrate it? Will we allow God's mercy to transform not just our own lives, but how we view and treat others?
Reflection
Is there someone in your life whom you believe is undeserving of mercy? What makes it difficult for you to extend mercy to them?
How has God shown you mercy in your own life when you didn't deserve it? How might remembering this change your perspective toward others?
In what ways might you be like Jonah or the older brother in the Prodigal Son story, following God's commands but harboring resentment toward God’s mercy for others?
What small step could you take today to practice showing mercy in your everyday interactions?
Application
Today, identify one person with whom you struggle to show mercy. This might be someone who has hurt you, someone you disagree with politically, or even a group of people you find difficult to understand. Commit to praying for them daily this week, asking God to help you see them through his eyes. Remember, we don't have to start with our greatest pain; we can practice mercy in small ways that build our capacity for greater mercy.
When faced with an opportunity to respond with judgment or mercy today, pause and ask yourself, "Am I responding as someone who has received God's mercy, or as someone who believes others must earn what I freely received?" Then choose the path of mercy, trusting God to handle justice in his perfect way.
Prayer
Gracious God, thank you for your incredible mercy toward me. I confess that I often want to receive your mercy while withholding it from others. Forgive me for the times I've been like Jonah, angry at your goodness toward those I deemed unworthy. Remove my heart of stone and give me a heart of flesh that beats with your compassion. Help me to remember that I don't have to clean myself up to receive your embrace, and neither do others. Transform me by your mercy so that I might extend that same mercy to everyone I encounter today. In Jesus' name, Amen.
