The Gift of Mercy: Compassion in Action

The gift of mercy is one of the spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit grants to certain believers so that they may become agents of God's comfort and compassion in the world. Listing the gifts, the apostle Paul writes: "He that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness" (Romans 12:8). Those who carry this gift feel deeply the pain of others and are moved to relieve the suffering of others with the very tenderness of Christ. This gift has its source in the character of God. James reminds us: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17). The mercy we exercise is therefore not first our own, but the reflection of the mercy we have received. Peter celebrates God's "abundant mercy," which "hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3). Paul also declares that God, "who is rich in mercy" (Ephesians 2:4), loved us while we were still sinners. Having received such compassion, those with the gift of mercy put it into action: they visit the sick, comfort the afflicted, walk with the tested, and bear concrete witness to the love of God. Jesus himself proclaims: "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7). These verses teach that the mercy received from God becomes, by the Spirit, a living compassion in the service of others.