Mercy Over Judgment
James 2:13
Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
The book of James is a letter from the Apostle James to the Church on how to live a real and practical Christian life. James writes how we are to respond to God and also how to keep and maintain a Christlike relationship with others, which is not always an easy thing to do. In the book of James, he not only talks about how to respond to the Lord, but to dwell with others, how to maintain a Christ-led relationship with each one. James talks to us about not giving preferential treatment to the wealthy and ignoring the poor. He talks to us about breaking the Law and how if we make even one infraction this makes us a lawbreaker. Some of those who were in the Church at the time may have felt that showing favoritism as a “lesser” sin, James tells them that any sin, no matter how tiny it may seem, is breaking the entirety of God’s Law for His own. James reminds the believers that they are not to be held under the old Law; instead, they were to understand that they were under the New and better Covenant. This is a liberty which comes through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and gives us newfound freedom from the grip of sin. He admonishes us to live our life in such a way that we know that one day, every one of us will all alone stand before the Lord to give Him an account for our actions. “I couldn’t help it,” will not be a usable excuse, because the Cross of Jesus did away with that bondage. We are now under the law of perfect liberty in Jesus, our Lord and what He did for us on the Cross of Calvary. “Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been shown such great mercy,” we are not to withhold mercy from others. We have been shown great mercy, and should by every reason of thought, find it in our hearts to have mercy on others. If we are unmerciful toward others, then the Holy Spirit will deal with us in a similar way. I need the forgiveness of the Lord when I find myself saying not so nice things when someone cuts me off in traffic, or pushes their way to grab the last grocery item off the self they knew I was going towards. The “royal” law is to love your neighbor as yourself. Help us Lord to do just that! Forgive us when we have been merciless and impatient and unkind to others around us.
What about you? Are there areas of life that you could use the flow of the Holy Spirit in a greater way? Let’s talk to the Lord about this today and ask Him to help us grow in our understanding and our yielding to His mercy to triumph over judgment. Much love to you this day.
