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God is righteous and merciful at the same time. Because of this, He could not just decide to show us mercy when we actually deserved punishment. If He had done that, then He could not have been righteous. Justice had to be met in dealing with us. The wisdom and the love of God are seen in the way He met the challenge. He took our punishment on Himself so that then He would be free to forgive us. We can see that when He showed us mercy, it was not at the cost of ignoring His righteousness or justice.

It is not easy for us to conceptualise how righteousness and mercy work together. We would tend to take one or the other side at a time, and be merciful to some to the extent of ignoring their faults, or show a righteous indignation demanding punishment or unwillingness to forgive their sins. This is an area where we have to grow in maturity.

How would we deal with someone who has done us wrong? Some would say they can't be forgiven because of the enormity of the harm they have caused. They feel totally 'righteous' about it and think that it would be unfair to forgive such people. But then they forget how God has forgiven them. Was that really fair in that sense? No. But remembering how we deserved judgment and how God showed us mercy is what helps us to forgive others who have hurt us (Col.3:13).

Now, after we have received forgiveness from God as an expression of undeserved mercy, we ought to show the same mercy towards those who have sinned against us. If we think we should receive mercy even though we don't deserve it, but we don't want to forgive others because they don't deserve it, that would be unrighteous! That is what Jesus illustrated through the parable of the two servants where forgiveness was taken back from one because he refused to forgive the other (Mt.18:35).

As children grow up, we can notice that their sense of fair-play is stronger than their ability to show mercy. When they play games or face discipline, one response they have is to complain that things are not fair, according to their understanding. When this sense of righteousness is developed without a balance from mercy, they become legalistic, and hard and demanding towards the others. On the other hand, if they start doing unrighteous things themselves and cover things up, this part of their conscience becomes dulled. Some people who grow up like that take cover behind the concept of mercy, saying, "Judge not!"

Those who are honest with themselves as they grow up keep recognising more and more that they are very much faulty in themselves. Or, when the Holy Spirit convicts them as they hear the Gospel, they become suddenly aware of how much they need mercy and how little they deserve it. When they find grace as the unmerited favour that God gives them to deal with their shortcomings, they also learn to be merciful to others around them.

How we need a balance for ourselves and towards others! That is to partake of the divine nature.

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