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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Oct 14, 1909

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 86, No. 41.

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Show Mercy

By Albert Weeks

ALBERT WEEKS
“Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” Ps. 85:10. This text was fulfilled in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. It likewise must have a fulfilment in the hearts of the children of God, to give them characters that can be made immortal. All hardness of heart must be supplanted by love.
“Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him,” but I John 3:15. “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” I John 4:20.
Here is a test of our love to God. Our brother is one of God’s creatures. We can see him. If we love God, we shall love him, and do all we can for him. More than that, our love must include all mankind, even those who treat us badly. Says the Saviour, “Love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you; that ye may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” Matt. 5:44, 45, A. R. V.
How tenderly, then, should we treat those who are united with us in the bonds of Christian fellowship. Mercy should be blended with justice in all that sacred relationship. “Love thy neighbor as thyself” applies with full force here.
Says Paul: “If there is therefore any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassions, make full my joy, that ye be of the same mind, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; doing nothing through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself.” Phil. 2:1-3.
As we can know all about our own lives, if we have true humility we can easily count our brethren better than ourselves, for we know little of their lives. There is no place for self-exaltation in the gospel of Christ.
Smith’s Creek, Mich.