Luke 6:36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
This is Jesus speaking and Father therefor refers to God the Father. I have been reading through and watching videos of Shakespeare’s King Lear lately (this is what happens when the Super Bowl is past, and March Madness is yet to begin). Have you ever read or seen it? Apparently, I had in college because things were underlined in my book, but I hadn’t remembered it. One of the more famous lines is uttered by a beleaguered character (I mean, the guy has had both of his eyes put out by an angry rival!) and states “As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods. They kill us for their sport.” When you look around at all the heartache and violence and injustice of our world you can understand where he is coming from. Jesus lived in that same world. A world of oppression and poverty and torturous deaths by crucifixion. And yet he made the above statement about the mercy of God. And, if you read the greater context, he made it to many who were poor, hungry, weeping, and rejected- people who might have been more inclined to Shakespeare’s character’s statement. Where did Jesus find the mercy of God? Where do you?
Logan Memorial Presbyterian Church 