We could be tempted to think that mercy and forgiveness are pretty much the same thing; but this is not correct. Mercy is, in fact, the much broader idea; and forgiveness is really just one type or instance of an expression of mercy: it is the act of a merciful character.
Mercy is the essential cause and character of the
atonement of Jesus Christ.
It is because of mercy that sins are forgiven, yet also because of mercy that there are so many more gifts of the atonement than just that, including gifts of healing from sickness, comfort in sorrow, help in times of trouble, and strength to overcome personal weakness and doubt.
Mercy can also be described as the purpose or goal of the atonement, in so far as
it is our Heavenly Father’s will that,
through His mercifully given gifts which we obtain solely through the atonement of Jesus Christ,
each of us is to become a more merciful being,
more like Jesus Christ,
whose core nature, or primary personality trait, was mercy.
So, there you have a pretty complete introduction to, and outline of, this entry, summarized by these four points:
1. Mercy is a concept that includes traits such as forgiveness,
healing, comfort, help and strength;
2. Mercy is the essential character, cause and purpose of
the atonement of Jesus Christ;
3. Mercy is the essential character trait of Jesus Christ;
and,
4. Mercy is the essential character trait of the kind of person
each of us is supposed to become
as a follower of Jesus Christ
by relying on the enabling gifts which come to us through
His merciful atonement.
In short, mercy is a pretty darned important thing. But what is it exactly?
Like all words that are deep and broad in meaning, mercy is not easy to define.
In True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference, the little handbook of gospel principles that the Church published in 2004, there is no strict definition of mercy but it is sometimes equated to such terms as compassion, love, respect, forgiveness, gentleness and patience.
A dictionary definition will list similar terms, stating something along the lines that mercy involves leniency or clemency to persons who have committed a wrong, and kindness and alleviating the suffering of people who are in distress.
The quality of mercy in action was discussed in the talk and blog entry preceding and relating to this one (again, find it here ), about King David and Abigail.
To recap: David was in the wilderness with his army and sought the assistance of Nabal, whose property they had helped to protect. In exchange they asked for supplies but Nabal rudely refused. In anger, David was going to destroy Nabal and his entire household, but Nabal’s wife, Abigail, intervened, meeting David and his army on the way and bringing them a large supply of provisions. Then Abigail, imitating one key aspect of the atonement of Jesus Christ, took Nabal’s wrong behaviour on herself and asked for David’s forgiveness.
In this story,
- Abigail clearly showed mercy toward her undeserving husband, as well as mercy to the members of his household who needed to be protected from the consequences of her husband’s misdeed.
- David showed mercy to her by accepting her gifts as atonement for her husband’s transgressions; and
- David also thanked Abigail for the mercy that her intervention produced for him, by preventing him from doing what he realized would have been a great sin in taking revenge and not being forgiving as a follower of Christ should be.
Based on the foregoing, if I was to take a stab at my own definition of mercy, I might suggest that
mercy is that feeling or attitude that is freely expressed toward someone who, according the strict rules of justice, or in the strict language of rights and wrongs, doesn’t deserve it. |
I would want to add that mercy can also seem to be deserved, at times, or at least that
there are people or circumstances which seem to
make mercy the only right answer,
the response that must be given
to particular acts and circumstances,
even if the individual has no right to demand it.
Abigail seemed to deserve David’s mercy; but she had no power to demand it from him. From the point of view of the strict rules of justice, we could say that Abigail’s gifts did not have to be received by David; that Abigail’s willingness to take on herself the sins of her husband did not have to be accepted by David; but at the same time, it certainly feels as if David would have been doing something wrong if he did not receive her gifts and accept her atonement – that is, it feels as if Abigail deserved David’s mercy.
Perhaps, then, we can say that in addition to being compassionate toward the undeserving,
mercy can also be expressed in kindness or compassion gladly given to one who earns them by their good choices, character or behaviour, but which that one cannot of him or herself demand be given. |
Perhaps, in fact, mercy is something that
can never be demanded,
but must, by its nature
always be given freely.
In this regard, I would also like to say that I think it seems obvious that mercy can arise out of our feelings of love, but that it is also important to understand that
love is not a pre-requisite.
We don’t need to wait till we love someone to be kind or compassionate toward them. We can express mercy to anyone, though it may be easier to express to those we love; and I believe that, in fact, extending mercy to anyone will increase the love we have for them and the loving nature of our own personalities.
(In this regard, we might recall that David ended up marrying Abigail ; butI think we don’t want to assume that will be the specific result of every act of mercy in our lives.)
At this point in the talk, I invited each listener to remember examples of times when he or she had received the gift of mercy from others - places and circumstances in which someone had shown him or her a kindness that that was undeserved and compassion that could not be demanded. In addition, I suggested each could, hopefully, also remember at least a few times when he or she had been the giver of those kinds of gift.
Amongst my own experiences is an employer who patiently taught me the skills of my trade when by all rights he could simply have dismissed me. Instead, he made me better at what I needed to do and helped me to succeed.
I also recognize the many times my parents – my mother in particular – chose to suffer in silence the hurt feelings I caused them, forgiving my immaturity or ignorance. As a parent, I have known times when I have done the same thing (and times when I haven't), or, at minimum, times when I have not let my anger or pain interfere with ensuring my children have had the necessities, and even some of the luxuries, of life for their safety, health and enjoyment.
A particular and recurring example of giving the gift of mercy in my life has been my wife, and I have also sought to give that gift to her as we have each suffered by one another’s shortcomings over the years and been in need of forgiveness, comfort and strength.
Merciful acts in our lives may include expressing compassion to someone suffering emotionally, encouraging someone feeling down or discouraged, or performing any number of planned or random acts of service without seeking a reward. It includes all those traits of forgiveness, comfort, healing, help and strength.
Mercy is recognized as a gift that is gladly and freely given
by the one who (at that moment and in that instance) is strong, to the other who (at that moment and in that instance) is weak;
by the one who is able, to the one who is incapable;
by the one who has, to the one who has not.
In other words, whenever you find yourself in the position of having, or having power to provide, what someone else needs – whether it be a need for forgiveness, food or money, health or help, compassion, support, comfort, kindness, education, strength or patience or any of a myriad of other things – at that moment, you have the opportunity of being merciful by providing what is needed from your own supply of the same, without demanding anything for yourself in return.
Your reward is the increased love and goodness that will define your own character.
Then, having reflected on past experiences of giving or receiving mercy, each of us might be in a good frame of mind to consider the needs for mercy that exist immediately around us at this moment.
When delivering this talk, I asked the members of the congregation to imagine those sitting to their left and right, in front and behind, and consider, "What mercies are they in need of that I can supply?"
I suggested they give thought to these questions:
Who sitting here is lonely and needs to know he or she has a friend?
Who sitting here gives him or herself in service, and is tired, and
needs to know his or her work is appreciated or needs to
have a helping as well as an encouraging hand?
Who sitting here is suffering from fear or sorrow or sickness,
who you have the ability to help?
Or is there someone here who offended you and needs your forgiveness;
or who you have offended, and who needs to know that you are sorry?
Then I invited them to think for a moment about those who were not there, and to consider:
Who is absent because of sickness or sorrow or guilt or fear? and
Who is missing from this room because they simply do not know
that this place (the Church) is where the gifts of God’s grace
are to be fully found?
Some, I presumed, might feel twinges of remorse and think of the many times they had failed to be merciful when they could or should have been. I suggested, “perhaps you have been critical of someone as he or she has tried to fulfill a calling to the best of that person’s ability; perhaps you misjudged and mistreated somebody, or you expressed some angry or unkind words recently and the issue is still not resolved; or perhaps you have been failing or forgetting to do a kind deed that you know someone really needs, or to perform the duties of your own callings.”
Then I added that when the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians the second time, he said,
“though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent…I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance.” |
“Godly sorrow,” he goes on to say,
“worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of.”
In other words, if anything said here makes a reader feel that he or she has fallen short in some way, at some time, in regard to some other person - then, if that reader can recognize and feel remorse for that failure, it is good thing,
if it also leads him or her to repent and
to begin now to exercise faith
in the merciful character of God
to obtain the characteristics of mercy him- or herself that
through grace because of the atonement of Jesus Christ, He can give you.
As mentioned at the outset
mercy is the ultimate character of the atonement of Jesus Christ,
and is the thing for which the atonement is primarily intended;
not only to extend His mercy to us – by giving us the forgiveness of our sins and other blessings that we need – but also to cause us to become
the kind of people
who are merciful toward others.
One might even be so bold as to say that the unmerciful spirit is the spirit of Satan –
the spirit of one who
dwells on other’s faults without forgiveness,
accuses them for their errors or bad behaviour;
and it is the one who assumes that
his her own needs are so much more important than others that he or she will fail to give to others from the good gifts that he or she has to offer.
I would dare say that while we fail
to have mercy in our hearts, we fail
to be Christ’s children.