James wrote to believers saying: “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (James 1:27). To look after widows and orphans in their distress is to be merciful to those who are in a position of weakness, need, and vulnerability, doing what we can to meet their need, and thereby showing mercy to them by spending ourselves and our resources in their behalf. At the same time, we are to walk in
obedience to all of God’s word, keeping ourselves from being polluted by the world.
James also exhorted us: “So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:12-13). As
believers, the love and the life of Christ will be manifested in our lives lived here on earth (2 Corinthians 4:10-11). And one of the ways in which Christ’s life will be manifested through our lives is through the sacrifice that we make when we show mercy to others.
Let all of us who are recipients of God’s grace strive to show mercy to others whenever we can, so that we will receive eternal reward in Heaven, as well as God’s conditional promises of His mercies for our own lives here on earth. These promises of His blessing and mercy shown toward us in our times of trouble are contingent upon our showing mercy to others.