By Jennifer Tong
It is often said that, in our relationship with God, grace is ‘getting the favours we don’t deserve’, while mercy is ‘not getting the punishments we deserve.’ When we cry out, with the tax collector, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13), we are asking God to forgive our sins, to spare us from punishment, and to grant us salvation. Mercy is what triumphs over judgment; and we rely on the compassion of Father God and the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for the effectual blotting out of our sins.
A broader meaning of mercy, then, includes the compassion and kindness behind the forgiveness, a sense of extending love and grace where there are needs. When we, in prayer, claim the beloved verse in Lamentations that the Lord’s mercies are ‘new every morning’ (Lam 3: 23), we are relying on Him not only for forgiveness but also for granting just what we need every moment, including when we are broken, in pain, or in need of comfort and strength.
I think it is against this background that the Bible commands us to “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36; NIV), to ‘love mercy’ (Micah 6:8), and to be counted among the blessed by being merciful (Matt 5:7). A good example of being merciful is the Good Samaritan in the biblical story, familiar to many of us, who stops and tends to the man who has been robbed and injured while the priest and Levite pass by (Luke 10:29-37). It is an example of caring for the practical and emotional needs of those who are weak, neglected, and sidelined, even though he himself is inconvenienced.
ESL ministry (or newcomers’ ministry) provides good opportunities for this kind of caring and showing mercy. Our ESL students are often among the marginalized, the weak, the neglected, and the ‘wounded’. Many suffer silently the struggles of settling in a new country, with no family or friends around. They have to face the shame, even discrimination, that comes from their professional experience not being recognized. They have to struggle to make a living, support their family, and at the same time, navigate changing family dynamics, loneliness or even mental health problems. Many find learning to be proficient in a new language extremely hard. Might God’s people rise up to offer a listening ear, a helping hand, prayers and friendship? Might we bring hope and smiles to them, ‘weeping with those who weep’? The Lord is glorified in such ministries of mercy.
On this Valentine’s Day, let us be thinking about the ‘strangers’ and outsiders amongst us; and let us draw near to the throne of grace and receive mercy (Heb 4:16), so that we might in turn show mercy and love to those around us.