Benevolence / Mercy

Zecheriah 7v.8-10: "And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, "Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, whow kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart."

Benevolence and mercy are all over the Bible. Old Testament, New Testament... we see acts of benevolence and mercy throughout. Of course, the ultimate showing of mercy is God giving us Jesus Christ as Saviour and ultimate sacrifice for our sin. But then, we also see showing kindness towards widows, orphans, the needy, aliens, servants, leaders, and everyone we come in contact with.

Benevolence and mercy are two things that should come naturally to the regenerated heart. These are not natural, however, to the heart of the unrepentant. Why is this? Because, when still mired in sin, we only look out for the one we think is tops in our own minds, "Numero Uno..." ourselves.

We must be vigilante about remembering what Christ did for us in His limitless mercy, and desire to show that exact same kind of mercy in our daily lives.