Crazy Happy by Daniel Fusco

Author:Daniel Fusco [Fusco, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2021-02-16T00:00:00+00:00

The Mercy Way

As we look at our next beatitude, we see Jesus’s invitation to walk in mercy. This means both forgiveness for the guilty and compassion for those who are suffering.

I think the easiest way to understand mercy is through the lens of justice and grace. Here goes:

• Justice is getting what you deserve.

• Mercy is not getting what you deserve.

• Grace is getting what you don’t deserve.

To use the example of Obadiah’s basketball team again, justice is getting removed from the game because you fouled out. You got what you deserved. Five fouls and game over.

Mercy? You foul out, get removed from the game, and Dad takes you to dinner. You didn’t get what you deserved.

Grace? You foul out of the game, Dad takes you out for dinner, and he gives you a trust fund.*5

What’s beautiful is that God is all of these: just, merciful, and gracious. God gives what we deserve. But the good news of Jesus Christ is that God gave the punishment that we deserved not to us but to Jesus. God is still just; it’s part of his perfection.

God is also merciful, because sometimes he doesn’t give us what we deserve. One of the most beautiful examples of mercy is the story of the prodigal son.

Jesus is quick to point out here that mercy is something we have received, and then we’re also encouraged to extend mercy to other people. And we’re not just talking about feelings of mercy. We’re also talking about concrete acts of mercy—specific, practical things that move the needle.

So let’s look at this idea with the whole picture in mind. The crazy happy life begins with our poverty of spirit, our awareness that we bring nothing to our relationship with God except our rebellion. That leads us to mourning for the ways we move in this world, producing meekness. That feeling of getting over ourselves then leads us to hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Now, part of God’s righteousness is his mercy. Because we receive satisfaction from the goodness of God, we release our need to give people what we think they deserve. Talk about weird! Isn’t that countercultural to the day and age in which we live?

But guess what? Justice is not the only attribute of God. God’s way doesn’t end with “an eye for an eye.”*6 His way is different from our world’s perspective of, “I want justice for my enemies, but I want mercy for me.” We can identify with that, can’t we? But that double standard within all of us grieves the heart of God.

We know from the book of Proverbs that having uneven scales—judging things unfairly—is an abomination to God. He hates that. Because we have received mercy, Jesus expects us to extend it to others, regardless of what they “deserve.” It’s not our job to determine someone else’s worthiness of mercy. And if you’re anything like me, you can say, Thank the Lord I’m not God, right? Can I get an amen?

In Matthew 7:1–2, Jesus says, “Judge not, that you be not judged.

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