A social agenda that is merciful

The New Testament teaches a great deal about the love we should show towards one another starting with Jesus radical call to mercy. Jesus could be heard saying things like love your enemie. God has indeed called Christians to have a heart and a will to meet the everyday needs of all people especially the  poor, homeless, destitute of all people groups in his creation. The down trodden and those living on the margins of our societies, He has called us to have compassion and most of all, he has called us to show this compassion in real-time acts of mercy to our neighbor. Jesus illustrates in the parable of the good Samaritan that our neighbor is literally anyone who is in our path.

The Christian should and is expected to have a merciful lifestyle. Let us also be mindful to first have a worshipful lifestyle. The merciful life style cannot come before a worshipful life style. For if there is no worshipful life style our acts of mercy are not merciful at all. Paul in his twelth chapter of Romans  is unmistakably exhorting Christians towards radical self sacrificing mercy. But notice what he says in the opening verse before going on to this call for mercy.  Verse 1:  “I appeal to you therefore, brothers by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual worship”. This is absolutely crucial for Christians to understand. We are called first to be worshipful and then merciful. We cannot be merciful in earnest if through all of our acts of mercy we are not making much of Jesus (worshiping). This is because the bottom-line need of every human being in the world is mercy; the mercy from God through Jesus Christ. If we are not making much of Jesus in honoring and treasuring this in our acts of mercy with intent to let people see and taste Christ and share in him, if this is not our design then we are not really being a merciful person. Because it is not merciful to make people more comfortable on their way to hell. No one would call that merciful. They would could it short sighted, condecending, neglectful but not merciful. If the mercy you are giving is not designed to display Jesus to them it is simply not merciful. If our acts of mercy are not designed to worship God, showing his worth through Jesus then our acts of mercy becomes a mere social agenda. Social agendas are extremely important, beautiful and necessary and expected of us. I mean, what greater cause if not for the welfare and care of precious souls. But if it is not an agenda that is rooted in worshiping God, to exalt God, showing his ultimate worth and glory and designed to display God through the agenda and with words to interpret the agenda then we are no longer exhibiting a merciful life style.