We do not generate mercy—we reflect God’s mercy. Mercy is part of God’s response to human frailty. Also, God shows mercy through His servants. The Hebrew word for “mercy” is hesed, which means “loyal love” or “loving-kindness.” The Greek word is eleos, which means to have a deep concern for the welfare of others. It is a quality of God seen in both the Old and New Testaments. It is significant that, in the instructions for the building of the Old Testament sanctuary, in Exodus 25, God tells Moses to build a “mercy seat” of pure gold as a cover for the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy Place (Exod. 25:21), even though “mercy seat” is a different word from hesed.
In this lesson, we will find biblical assurance that those who serve God can be free of worry as they focus on kingdom priorities. We will examine attitudes and strategies that guide the merciful and generous in coping effectively with the challenges and opportunities of service. We will note the calling and role of merciful people to facilitate reconciliation and peacemaking, as well as speaking up for those who have no voice. If you have a Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual, refer to the church’s advice on peacefully maintaining an uncompromising stand for justice and right in civic affairs.1
In class, explore your church’s progress in responding to pleas for mercy. Try to evaluate the effectiveness of your church in loving mercy and showing it.
Part II: Commentary
Scripture: Our ministry to the world is not only in the realm of doctrines and ideas. It must be demonstrated in acts of mercy, fairness, compassion, and justice. “Practical work will have far more effect than mere sermonizing. We are to give food to the hungry, clothing to the naked, and shelter to the homeless. And we are called to do more than this. The wants of the soul, only the love of Christ can satisfy.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 417.
Jesus’ love and prioritization of showing mercy was demonstrated clearly in His parables and healings, both physical and spiritual. For example, in the end-time parable of the sheep and the goats (Matt. 25:31–40), Jesus links salvation with merciful ethics. This link surfaces again in the story of the spiritual healing of Zacchaeus. Christ’s mercy and grace won Zacchaeus’ heart. Zacchaeus responded by pledging to be merciful by giving half of his goods to the poor and four-fold restoration to anyone he had cheated. Jesus then announced to him, “This day is salvation come to this house” (Luke 19:9). Again, Jesus links salvation with merciful social ethics—a kingdom priority.
In His ministry, Jesus appeared to devote more time to healing than to teaching and regularly showed mercy by healing the demon-possessed, the disfigured, blind, deaf, dumb, and the wounded in spirit. “The tendency of the religions of all time has been to care more for religion than for humanity; Christ cared more for humanity than for religion—rather, His care for humanity was the chief expression of His religion.”2
Invite your class members to discuss the implications of the quotation above. Invite them to read James 1:26, 27 and James 2:15–18 aloud as a prelude to the discussion.
Illustration: Doing justice and loving mercy (Mic. 6:8) might seem to be impossible tasks in light of the overwhelming and colossal problems in society.
Discuss: How can your church deal with compassion fatigue by resisting the temptation to do nothing, because you cannot do everything?
The story is told of a boy who was walking on a beach where he encountered hundreds of dying starfish that had washed ashore. The boy began tossing the starfish back into the ocean. Someone saw him and told him that he could not possibly help all those starfish. As he tossed another starfish into the ocean, he answered that the little he could do made a difference to that one.
Even though you would get tired and overwhelmed attempting to help every needy person and situation you encounter, start somewhere. You can make a difference to those whom you help.
Scripture: Showing mercy requires education because many situations are complicated and messy. In time, mercy will collide with an opposing force: injustice. Against this overpowering force, acts of mercy can seem woefully inadequate. What good is a cup of soup and a sandwich when a severe addiction controls a man’s life?
Having to contend inevitably with the overpowering force of injustice may be why the Bible places equal emphasis on both mercy and justice. God’s basic design for showing mercy is summarized in Micah 6:8, which enjoins God’s people “to do justice, and to love mercy.” Doing justice means treating others with fairness and reasonableness. It means making decisions that are fair and reasonable too. Loving mercy means being compassionate, kind, and forgiving to someone over whom you have power. Putting these two virtues together, in keeping with the command in Micah, leads us to wholistic, empowering involvement with those whom we serve. For example, the addict needs both food and treatment. Street kids need friendship and jobs.
What are the implications of the above concepts for your church’s ministry strategy? What Bible stories of Jesus’ healing miracles show individuals cooperating with the Great Physician in their healing or betterment? For example, see Luke 17:11–14, John 5:1–9, John 8:2–11, and John 9:1–7.
Illustration: To illustrate the importance of moving from relief (giving a fish) to individual development (teaching someone to fish), discuss the following story. What guidelines for generosity are given?
One advocate for social reform coordinated an adopt-a-family pro gram for urban families who could not afford to buy Christmas presents for their children. On Christmas Day, the generous gift givers would deliver gifts to their adopted city families. One Christmas, the advocate happened to be in the living rooms of needy families when the gift givers in this adopt-a-family program arrived. The children were very excited and happy about the beautifully wrapped gifts, but the mothers were reserved, though gracious. If there was a dad in the house, he vanished out the back door when he saw the gift givers coming. These parents were suffering from loss of dignity and pride. Their failure as providers for their children was laid bare right in their own home.
After this experience, this advocate’s organization started a family store. Instead of delivering wrapped gifts to their adopted city family, the merciful gift givers were asked to bring an unwrapped gift to the family store, where a Christmas toy shop was set up. A small price would be placed on each item. Parents from the community were invited to Christmas shop. Those who had no money could work at the store and earn what would be needed to purchase gifts for their family, for a cash flow had been generated from selling the gift donations. On Christmas the parents could experience the joy of watching their children open gifts that the parents had provided with their own hands. The name of the program was changed from Adopt-A-Family to “Pride for Parents.” Let the poor give too!
Scripture: Peacemaking is an act of mercy. Because of His mercy, Jesus offers peace to the troubled in heart (John 14:27). God has reconciled us to Himself through Christ. He has given His people the “ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18) to help facilitate peace between people in fulfillment of His mandate to “strive for peace with all men” (Heb. 12:14, RSV). God even instructed the Israelites, “And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives” (Jer. 29:7).
Peacemaking is linked with being in God’s family. (Matt. 5:9). Those who foster God’s Messianic peace will receive the reward of being His sons and daughters, for they reflect His character. This peace is based on the Hebrew word shalom, which means total well-being, personally and communally.3 God wants His people to bring this shalom to the communities they serve.
Ask the class to share ways that their church has been a peacemaker—internally and externally.
Part III: Life Application
Well-intentioned and merciful people can turn attempts to show mercy into “toxic charity.” Mercy is not a destination but is only the door, an opening to make a difference. Mercy that does not move in the direction of justice— which includes development of the recipients of our mercy—will do more harm than good to both the recipient and the giver. Doing for, rather than with those who are in need all too often produces toxic charity. We must deeply believe that every person, every community, no matter how broken, has something of worth to bring to the table. Doing for a community what it can do for itself is damaging to community life as well as to an individual. Solution: Merciful intervention must be community driven rather than volunteer driven, and community led rather than volunteer led.
If your class is large enough, break into pairs and discuss ideas for real-life application of the aforementioned concepts. Have students role play, starting a plan to meet a need that they have discovered in their community. Or have them evaluate an existing community intervention with which they are acquainted. Ask them also to consider these questions (write their ideas on the lines provided):
In what ways is capable indigenous (i.e., local, native) leadership behind the effort?
How does the program show that it has the ultimate self-sufficiency of the neighborhood as a primary objective?
In what ways does the plan emanate from the local church, which partners with entities in the community?
How does the plan promote interdependency rather than continued dependency?
In closing, have class members share with the whole group what they discussed.
Notes
``
1 The Secretariat, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual, 19th edition (Review and Herald®, 2016), pp. 143, 144.
2 Henry Drummond, The Programme of Christianity (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Company, 1891), p. 9.
3 The English Standard Version Study Bible, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), p. 1828.
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We do not generate mercy—we reflect God’s mercy. Mercy is part of God’s response to human frailty. Also, God shows mercy through His servants. The Hebrew word for “mercy” is hesed, which means “loyal love” or “loving-kindness.” The Greek word is eleos, which means to have a deep concern for the welfare of others. It is a quality of God seen in both the Old and New Testaments. It is significant that, in the instructions for the building of the Old Testament sanctuary, in Exodus 25, God tells Moses to build a “mercy seat” of pure gold as a cover for the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy Place (Exod. 25:21), even though “mercy seat” is a different word from hesed.
In this lesson, we will find biblical assurance that those who serve God can be free of worry as they focus on kingdom priorities. We will examine attitudes and strategies that guide the merciful and generous in coping effectively with the challenges and opportunities of service. We will note the calling and role of merciful people to facilitate reconciliation and peacemaking, as well as speaking up for those who have no voice. If you have a Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual, refer to the church’s advice on peacefully maintaining an uncompromising stand for justice and right in civic affairs.1
In class, explore your church’s progress in responding to pleas for mercy. Try to evaluate the effectiveness of your church in loving mercy and showing it.
Part II: Commentary
Scripture: Our ministry to the world is not only in the realm of doctrines and ideas. It must be demonstrated in acts of mercy, fairness, compassion, and justice. “Practical work will have far more effect than mere sermonizing. We are to give food to the hungry, clothing to the naked, and shelter to the homeless. And we are called to do more than this. The wants of the soul, only the love of Christ can satisfy.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 417.
Jesus’ love and prioritization of showing mercy was demonstrated clearly in His parables and healings, both physical and spiritual. For example, in the end-time parable of the sheep and the goats (Matt. 25:31–40), Jesus links salvation with merciful ethics. This link surfaces again in the story of the spiritual healing of Zacchaeus. Christ’s mercy and grace won Zacchaeus’ heart. Zacchaeus responded by pledging to be merciful by giving half of his goods to the poor and four-fold restoration to anyone he had cheated. Jesus then announced to him, “This day is salvation come to this house” (Luke 19:9). Again, Jesus links salvation with merciful social ethics—a kingdom priority.
In His ministry, Jesus appeared to devote more time to healing than to teaching and regularly showed mercy by healing the demon-possessed, the disfigured, blind, deaf, dumb, and the wounded in spirit. “The tendency of the religions of all time has been to care more for religion than for humanity; Christ cared more for humanity than for religion—rather, His care for humanity was the chief expression of His religion.”2
Invite your class members to discuss the implications of the quotation above. Invite them to read James 1:26, 27 and James 2:15–18 aloud as a prelude to the discussion.
Illustration: Doing justice and loving mercy (Mic. 6:8) might seem to be impossible tasks in light of the overwhelming and colossal problems in society.
Discuss: How can your church deal with compassion fatigue by resisting the temptation to do nothing, because you cannot do everything?
The story is told of a boy who was walking on a beach where he encountered hundreds of dying starfish that had washed ashore. The boy began tossing the starfish back into the ocean. Someone saw him and told him that he could not possibly help all those starfish. As he tossed another starfish into the ocean, he answered that the little he could do made a difference to that one.
Even though you would get tired and overwhelmed attempting to help every needy person and situation you encounter, start somewhere. You can make a difference to those whom you help.
Scripture: Showing mercy requires education because many situations are complicated and messy. In time, mercy will collide with an opposing force: injustice. Against this overpowering force, acts of mercy can seem woefully inadequate. What good is a cup of soup and a sandwich when a severe addiction controls a man’s life?
Having to contend inevitably with the overpowering force of injustice may be why the Bible places equal emphasis on both mercy and justice. God’s basic design for showing mercy is summarized in Micah 6:8, which enjoins God’s people “to do justice, and to love mercy.” Doing justice means treating others with fairness and reasonableness. It means making decisions that are fair and reasonable too. Loving mercy means being compassionate, kind, and forgiving to someone over whom you have power. Putting these two virtues together, in keeping with the command in Micah, leads us to wholistic, empowering involvement with those whom we serve. For example, the addict needs both food and treatment. Street kids need friendship and jobs.
What are the implications of the above concepts for your church’s ministry strategy? What Bible stories of Jesus’ healing miracles show individuals cooperating with the Great Physician in their healing or betterment? For example, see Luke 17:11–14, John 5:1–9, John 8:2–11, and John 9:1–7.
Illustration: To illustrate the importance of moving from relief (giving a fish) to individual development (teaching someone to fish), discuss the following story. What guidelines for generosity are given?
One advocate for social reform coordinated an adopt-a-family pro gram for urban families who could not afford to buy Christmas presents for their children. On Christmas Day, the generous gift givers would deliver gifts to their adopted city families. One Christmas, the advocate happened to be in the living rooms of needy families when the gift givers in this adopt-a-family program arrived. The children were very excited and happy about the beautifully wrapped gifts, but the mothers were reserved, though gracious. If there was a dad in the house, he vanished out the back door when he saw the gift givers coming. These parents were suffering from loss of dignity and pride. Their failure as providers for their children was laid bare right in their own home.
After this experience, this advocate’s organization started a family store. Instead of delivering wrapped gifts to their adopted city family, the merciful gift givers were asked to bring an unwrapped gift to the family store, where a Christmas toy shop was set up. A small price would be placed on each item. Parents from the community were invited to Christmas shop. Those who had no money could work at the store and earn what would be needed to purchase gifts for their family, for a cash flow had been generated from selling the gift donations. On Christmas the parents could experience the joy of watching their children open gifts that the parents had provided with their own hands. The name of the program was changed from Adopt-A-Family to “Pride for Parents.” Let the poor give too!
Scripture: Peacemaking is an act of mercy. Because of His mercy, Jesus offers peace to the troubled in heart (John 14:27). God has reconciled us to Himself through Christ. He has given His people the “ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18) to help facilitate peace between people in fulfillment of His mandate to “strive for peace with all men” (Heb. 12:14, RSV). God even instructed the Israelites, “And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives” (Jer. 29:7).
Peacemaking is linked with being in God’s family. (Matt. 5:9). Those who foster God’s Messianic peace will receive the reward of being His sons and daughters, for they reflect His character. This peace is based on the Hebrew word shalom, which means total well-being, personally and communally.3 God wants His people to bring this shalom to the communities they serve.
Ask the class to share ways that their church has been a peacemaker—internally and externally.
Part III: Life Application
Well-intentioned and merciful people can turn attempts to show mercy into “toxic charity.” Mercy is not a destination but is only the door, an opening to make a difference. Mercy that does not move in the direction of justice— which includes development of the recipients of our mercy—will do more harm than good to both the recipient and the giver. Doing for, rather than with those who are in need all too often produces toxic charity. We must deeply believe that every person, every community, no matter how broken, has something of worth to bring to the table. Doing for a community what it can do for itself is damaging to community life as well as to an individual. Solution: Merciful intervention must be community driven rather than volunteer driven, and community led rather than volunteer led.
If your class is large enough, break into pairs and discuss ideas for real-life application of the aforementioned concepts. Have students role play, starting a plan to meet a need that they have discovered in their community. Or have them evaluate an existing community intervention with which they are acquainted. Ask them also to consider these questions (write their ideas on the lines provided):
In closing, have class members share with the whole group what they discussed.
Notes
``
1 The Secretariat, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual, 19th edition (Review and Herald®, 2016), pp. 143, 144.
2 Henry Drummond, The Programme of Christianity (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Company, 1891), p. 9.
3 The English Standard Version Study Bible, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), p. 1828.