“We judge others harshly because the chances are that we are under judgment ourselves. We become more gracious with others and magnanimous in our relationships when we ourselves come under the grace and mercy of God.”– Albert Kang

Without mercy Prodigo is doomed. His transgression makes him absolutely dependent on the merciful character of God in order to survive his relationship with a holy and righteous God. Mercy not only allows Prodigo to survive in this new relationship but it will also unshackle him to thrive within every aspect of the makarios life. How does mercy do this? By eliminating any fear that he may have of not living up to the high standard of the makarios life. Prodigo really needs to understand this for if there is anything that will hold him back from striving to be the image of God it will be the fear of judgment from failing. Look what is said about fear in 1 John 4:18.

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.”

The perfect love of God WILL cast out all fear in Prodigo’s relationship with his heavenly Father. Prodigo will feel God’s love as He lavishes compassionate acts of kindness on him. God does not only declare Prodigo as righteous as he is supposed to be. He also lavishes kindness upon kindness on him so he does not have to fear God’s punishment.

Even though God declares Prodigo righteous there will never be a single moment Prodigo lives on this earth that he will stop being a transgressor. There will be moments he does not sin but there will never be a single moment in time that Prodigo will not be a transgressor until after his physical death. Only then will God change him from a transgressor to be like His Son, Jesus.

So every moment Prodigo lives on earth is a moment of God expressing His mercy to him by not grabbing him by the neck and throwing him into the darkness of hell. And if Prodigo is startled by this concept, then he has never fully understood what being poor in spirit is all about.

Every breath Prodigo takes is a breath of God’s mercy. Every morning he wakes up is the beginning of another day of God lavishing mercy upon him rather than judgment. Every time Prodigo closes his eyes to let his body and mind rest, God is lavishing him with merciful sleep so he can regain his strength for another day. These are acts of compassion because as a transgressor Prodigo does not deserve any of them. This is the heart and soul of mercy – when someone undeserving receives acts of compassion and kindness instead of what is due them.

The mercy of God is what allows goodness and beauty to still exist in our transgression-dominated world. And to this God calls Prodigo to be merciful just as Jesus was to all the transgressors/sinners that He came in contact with. This means Prodigo is now supposed to bring the tender mercies of God to a world full of transgression. Prodigo is now to be the expression of God’s active compassion. He is to do unto others as God has done for him. Prodigo is to be the hands of God as if Jesus Himself were lavishing kindness on those around him.

Think for a moment of the many good things that Prodigo has probably experienced. The Bible says all good things come from God.

“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with who there is no variation or shifting shadow.” (James 1:17)

It says here God is constantly bringing good things to Prodigo’s life and these are expressions of His mercy or active compassion. How does Prodigo receive these good things? He receives them from the hands and hearts of people. God will seldom make a good thing suddenly appear out of thin air. He could but He chooses to work through people like Prodigo. This is the makarios life. It is one of being the merciful hands and heart of God.

The new objective God has for Prodigo is HE is now to be the merciful expression of the image of God just as Jesus was when He walked among us. He is now to bring beauty and kindness through acts of compassion. That is why God refers to Prodigo now as the salt and light of this world. He is to help preserve goodness and be a shining light of mercy in a dark world. And again, Prodigo must have the attitude that says as you wish to God’s desire for him to be merciful. Anything short of this is not living the life of righteousness Jesus died for.

So how does Prodigo preserve goodness and be a shining light? The first and foremost way he does this is to do it the same way God does. Overpower wrong with active compassion.

“For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:13)

The Greek word translated triumphs over means basically to be extremely happy extending compassion to a person rather than judgment even though judgment is due. You are elated to be able to give mercy to them instead. This describes the way of God with Prodigo, the transgressor. God has postponed the judgment due Prodigo to a much later date, leaving numerous opportunities for him to escape the future judgment by accepting and responding to the gospel of the kingdom now. God is ecstatic as He gives His mercy to the undeserving transgressor Prodigo. That is what it means for mercy to triumph over judgment.            

At this point Prodigo must look at God’s judgment for an understanding of what happened to Jesus on the cross will completely transform how he deals with wrongs committed against him. Every single sin committed by us humans was placed on Jesus and then He was punished exactly to the equitable degree those sins called for. So whenever someone does something wrong against Prodigo that sin has already been completely punished. Jesus became that sin and was punished for it. Sin no longer needs to be dealt with and punished by God because God has already punished every sin when Jesus was crucified. How easy it will be though for Prodigo to forget that every sin was dealt with and punished perfectly on the cross. The moment he forgets this, he will find himself wanting to condemn and punish those who commit sins against him. This is why it is imperative for Prodigo to continually stay poor in spirit. For only those who are forgiven much can love much. Prodigo can never get very far from being forgiven much so he will always be able to be merciful to those transgressors/sinners like his wife, his children, his family, friends and neighbors.

Mother Teresa brought beauty to the dark and lonely world of the worst and most downtrodden people in Calcutta. In India, the lowest, most physically handicapped people are thought of as cursed by the Hindu god for their past life of wrongs they committed. This judgment is seen in how bad their life is now. Those whose lives are good look down on those whose lives are full of pain and misery. Mother Teresa looked at this condemnation and saw in these unfortunate people the opportunity to give back to God what He had so mercifully given to her. Mother Teresa only lived what Jesus also calls Prodigo to live:

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited in Me in; Naked, and you clothed Me; sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’

Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’

The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’“ (Matthew 25:34-41)   

This is what it means for Prodigo to be merciful. It is far more than having warm, fuzzy feelings or only empathizing with someone’s pain. Prodigo’s mercy must reach out in some way to do what it can to alleviate misery or lavish kindness on those who deserve punishment. When he does this only then will Prodigo be merciful. And only then will Prodigo receive mercy.

This is how Prodigo was meant to live. This is the way of God and the image of God. Mercy is the only way God treats humans and it is the way Jesus says Prodigo is to treat others. This is what it looks like to walk in the Spirit. Being merciful is the truest manifestation of the makarios lifestyle God meant for Prodigo to live. As he gives active compassion to those around him, especially the least and most undeserving, Prodigo will then be giving mercy to Jesus. Every time he does God will then give mercy back to Prodigo.

“Only in heaven will we see how much we owe to the poor for helping us to love God better because of them.” – Mother Teresa

 

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