I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. Matthew 9:13 

God provided the sacrifice through His Son. He made His Son, Jesus, to be the person of mercy. It was at that point that God determined that we move our focus from our religious ideals of what we do to what Jesus did. Mercy is not just a concept to be emulated; mercy is the person of Christ. And if we are created in His image, mercy is part of the fabric of our being. To operate outside of mercy is to operate outside of Jesus and to operate outside of the purpose of our existence. Jesus no longer expects us to make sacrifices to atone for our shortcomings, He already did that on the cross. Jesus desires to see us embrace His life and emulate Him.

Action: What does it look like to emulate Jesus’ life? Listen to this song by Amanda Cook and make it your declaration throughout this week as you make imitating Jesus your delight.

Mercy triumphs over judgement. James 2:13b 

Jesus did not judge the unclean as they approached Him. Jesus did not cast them away from Him as others might have. Jesus embraced the hurting and diseased, and He healed them of ALL of their transgressions. This is the most ideal example of mercy’s triumph over judgement. Jesus meets you and heals you in your specific need regardless of what it looks like. Do you deserve judgement, yes. But the most foul, disgusting element of your life is covered by the mercy of Christ, and there will be no condemnation when you believe that truth and walk in Him.

Prayer: Thank you, Jesus for Your unrelenting love. I am thankful for my salvation, and that I am covered by Your sacrifice and resurrection. Thank You that You do not judge me according to the law, but that You judge me according to the finished work You did on the cross. Thank You that when You look at me, You see me whole and clean and well. I am thankful for the mercy You have shown me. In Your name, amen.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 

Mercy is a marker of Christianity and a central attribute of our God. God despised sin, yet He allowed His Son to become sin in order to show us mercy. Mercy gives us a pure and unbridled righteousness—righteousness that looks just like Jesus! The only way we can be counted as righteous is to accept the truth that Jesus’ act on the cross fulfills all requirements of the law.

Prayer: God, I thank You for the sacrifice You made through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank You for becoming sin for me so that I did not have to cover my sin in shame or think I could attain right standing without You. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:36 

Are you extending mercy and loving your enemies? When we receive the mercy of God through His Son, Jesus, we must be willing to extend mercy. If Jesus has told us we have the ability to show mercy, then today is the day to extend mercy and forgiveness, even to those we may despise. We need to see the mercy of Christ and be merciful—to take the ideas and convictions from Jesus’ teaching and allow them to be turned into spiritual maturity inside of us.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, please help me walk in the same compassion and mercy that You walk in. Then help me offer it more freely to those around me. In Your name, amen. After you pray this prayer, think of someone you may be avoiding or separated from. Ask God to help you extend mercy and the opportunity to restore the relationship to a new place of peace.