Wisdom Full of Mercy and Good Fruits
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February 16, 2014 |
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 "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace" (James 3:17-18).
Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
In general, the term 'mercy' is defined as 'the disposition of showing kindness and forgiveness.' But spiritually, mercy is not just having compassion for others. It is to consider one soul more precious than the whole world. Even though a person seems to be completely hopeless, we should not give up on him, but instead we must try to lead him to salvation.
If we show mercy with the love of God, the fruits gained will be 'good fruits'. That is how 'mercy' and 'good fruits' are so very closely related. Let's look into wisdom full of mercy and good fruits.
1. Good fruits borne through mercy
The heart of our God is mercy itself. If God does not forgive sinners, but deals with them strictly according to the Law, who in this world would survive? But because God shows mercy, we are able to receive the opportunities for repentance and also reach complete salvation.
Like the heart of our Father God, the heart of the Lord is also mercy itself. Matthew 12:20 talks about Jesus' mercy saying, "A battered reed He will not break off, and a smoldering wick He will not put out, until He leads justice to victory." Jesus endured even with those people who seemed to have no hope of receiving salvation who were like battered reeds and smoldering wicks. He preached forgiveness and the gospel even to those sinners who were despised by others such as tax-collectors and prostitutes. It's because He did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32).
Jesus did not say even to Judas Iscariot, "You just don't have the heart to receive salvation." He gave such people chances to receive salvation. He finally died on the cross to open the way of salvation for all mankind. Countless people who are saved through the price of His precious blood are the 'good fruits' borne through mercy.
2. The wisdom of mercy gives life
1) Mercy of forgiveness
Ephesians 4:32 says, "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." God tells us to forgive each other as God and the Lord have mercy on us and forgive us. But to have mercy and to forgive others we have to understand from the standpoint of others. We may not be able to understand others within our own viewpoint. But, if we understand them by putting ourselves in their shoes, we can forgive them in any kind of situation.
For example, suppose unbelieving parents or your spouse treats you badly. Then, if you don't understand them from their point of view, you may grumble and have resentment toward them. If you don't understand them you cannot love them. You may just try to avoid them out of fear and disappointment. Something very natural and obvious to a believing wife may not be understood at all by an unbelieving husband. So, when talking about church or faith, if the wife speaks only from her point of view, they will only have arguments. So, you should not just say your husband is wrong, but you have to understand his heart and think from his viewpoint. Only then will you receive wisdom.
2) The mercy of punishment
It sounds like forgiveness and punishment are in opposition, but in fact, they are not. It's because punishment in mercy is not done judgmentally with condemnation or with hatred. It is done with love. Punishments allowed by God are punishments of mercy. He punishes people out of His love for them. If we pile up too much of a wall of sin and God turns His back on us, there won't be any further punishment. Hebrews 12:6 says, "For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives."
Some people try to cover their faults and continue to give excuses to avoid any reproof. Or because their shortcomings are revealed, they become very disheartened. When we repent and turn completely from the way we were going, God will surely forgive us and allow for us to recover from the difficulties as well. He will not even remember our previous sins.
At times you may come to know about the fault or sins of brothers in faith and you may feel that you have to give them advice or reprove them. You have to first check your heart very carefully. You may cover your advice as being given in love, but it may be evilness within your own righteousness and frameworks of thought that points out the sin of others. It may also be that you are trying to teach others and control them with the loftiness of your heart to make them act as you want them to act. Even though we quote the Word of God, we cannot see the works of the Holy Spirit unless it is done with love.
Such advice will not let the other person understand or give him life. Instead, it will only cause ill-feelings or dishearten him. That person may be trying to do better realizing his fault, but when he hears advice or criticism that contains ill-feelings, he may be discouraged and just fall away.
Therefore, when we give advice to a person or punish somebody, we have to do it within the context of spiritual mercy and with a true understanding of his heart from his point of view. Also, we have to pray for him and give advice with a love that can even give our life for him. When we give punishment with this kind of heart, we can also give life to him.
3) Mercy of alms-giving
If we have spiritual mercy, we won't just feel pity for people when we see someone in need. But also we will actually offer a helping hand. True mercy is helping others with deeds of action and in truth as written in 1 John 3:18.
We have to have mercy for those souls who are not saved because they don't know the gospel. Because we have mercy we can preach the gospel when we are persecuted or even if it puts our own lives in danger. Also, we have to show mercy to those who failed in this world, those who are sick, the downcast and neglected.
When we show mercy with truth in this way, God will also show His mercy to us. God gives us more blessings than what we have sown and fills us overflowingly (Luke 6:38). That is why it is wisdom to help others.
But, when we help others we have to have discernment. We should help the families of believers first. We cannot receive blessings when we help those who do not work because of problems with drinking or gambling and those who are in financial crisis because they failed to keep the Law. If you help them financially, this is not right in the sight of God. You might even end up suffering together with him.
3. The wisdom of mercy full of good fruits
If we have abundant mercy, we will be full of good fruits. The deeds of mercy will be surely borne as beautiful fruits in the work of the Spirit. Above all, we will gain the fruit of salvation by leading many souls to salvation. If we act with mercy we will also bear good fruits in our hearts. All things such as the good deeds that we show even towards evil persons and the aroma of prayer in endurance and goodness are all good fruits. Through these fruits, we will gain honor both on earth and in heaven.
Jesus also harvested countless fruits with His indescribable mercy. He voluntarily took the pain of death in His mercy for the dying souls. With that fruit, innumerable souls have come to the way of salvation.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, when there are trouble-makers or some people with unfavorable characters, what kind of attitude do you have towards them? Haven't you ever thought, 'I hope that he doesn't come to church…' or 'I wish he'd move to another department.'? God wants us to be filled with mercy and good fruits and take care of each of the souls with love.
I hope you will love your neighbors with deeds and truthfulness, comfort the wounded hearts, and help the needy. I pray in the name of the Lord by doing so you will please God and the fruit of mercy and goodness will be overflowing.
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