Choosing to Love Mercy

The entire verse of Micah 6:8 is:

“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Mercy is the action of forgiving someone who doesn’t deserve it — when you have the power to punish them.

Receiving, bestowing, and loving mercy

I certainly love it when I receive mercy.

And it can be extremely difficult for me to give someone mercy.

But loving the mercy I grant? Wow. That’s a whole other level.

Requiring mercy

And then there’s another word in that verse — require.

God requires me to freely and openly cherish forgiving someone who doesn’t deserve it.

Some say that Christians use their beliefs to hide from the harsh realities of life.

I respectfully disagree.

To consciously choose — to cherish forgiving someone — who doesn’t deserve it.

In my world, that definitely doesn’t qualify as hiding from harsh reality.

I’ve also heard others say that Christians use God as a crutch because they aren’t “enough” to face life on their own. Not brave enough or smart enough or a host of other ways of not being enough.

I totally agree with that. I’m not enough in any way to deal with life without God’s help.

I have to depend on, and trust, and fully turn over everything in order to face life – and do what God wants.

And mercifully, in love, one of the things God gives me is the ability to do what He has done for me.

Freely and openly cherish forgiving — even when it is not deserved.

How do you develop the ability to grant and love mercy?

Choosing to Love Mercy – What gives you the ability to grant and love mercy? Share on X

Joni Vance is an award-winning author of fiction, essay, and poetry. She loves mystery, history, and how God reveals Himself every day.

May God reveal the mystery of His love in your life story.