I have heard it said that the church is
the worst about shooting their own wounded while they are down. Perhaps, many
believers have experienced this firsthand. In such cases, which are likely more
common than people care to admit, the church reveals her flaws where a message
of mercy is preached and yet its application ends there, i.e. the mercy of God
is not exuded through the people of God but rather proclaimed as a mere verbal
message. To be imitators of Jesus, however, believers should realize that
Christ does not stop with mercy, for he also restores. Scripture is replete
with the message of not only God’s mercy but also his restoration.
At the heart of God’s mercy is his restoration
and conformity to the image of Christ. To model the love of Jesus then is to
not stop with a mere message of mercy but continually offer mercy even when it
is not deserved and we do not want to give it, for the purpose of one’s
restoration. With Christ as our model, there are three imperatives to a
continuation of mercy through restoration.
