Pontius Pilate asked, "What is truth?"
His Roman Government knew no mercy.
Jesus Christ stated, "I am the Truth."
His Kingdom is founded on mercy.
These virtues are the heartbeat of Christianity because they are the heart of our God. The cross of Jesus Christ continues to be the supreme testament of truth and mercy. It is the perfect merging of similar yet dissimilar virtues.
Truth we may say confronts and convicts, but it is in the simultaneous extension of mercy or comfort, in action, that fulfills the mission perfectly. As people of The Way, we simultaneously bowed our knees to Truth and were apprehended by Mercy Himself at the time of our conversion or salvation which catapulted us from a state of separation and self-rule to restoration and God’s rule.
Truth we may say confronts and convicts. As disciples of Jesus, we must come to not only walk in truth but to commingle and apply it with mercy. The Old Testament admonishes us in (Micah 6:8) Amplified to do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to humble yourself and walk humbly with your God. This is what He desires of us. In the New Testament the story of the Good Samaritan, found in (Luke 10:25-37) is an excellent illustration of the application of truth and mercy. It is the way in which we are called to walk, man to man. Just as Jesus dealt and deals with us, so we are called to... go and do the same with those we come in contact with.
Extending mercy as we share truth is not un-Christian but God's way. We do not have to pump our fists or point our fingers in the sharing of truth. Jesus showed us a more excellent way and but for a few examples, such as the cleansing of the temple, He did not raise his voice nor get in any one's face. He did not deem it wise or becoming to meet force with force as did His disciples. Why? He knew there was a better way...
In our spiritual under-development we sometimes utilize these tactics often to the detriment of our mission. We name call to our shame and often present like the Pharisees of old. We forget that there we go, but for the grace of God. As the Apostle Paul reminded the churches in his writings so we must be reminded, “and such were some of you; idolaters, thieves, liars, homosexuals, drunkards, covetous, fornicators and adulterers etc." All of us have fallen short of the mark and to our dismay we continue to sin but God's mercies are new every morning for those of us who have accepted Him. Our goodness does not keep us. His does.
We are on a journey and the journey is toward maturity. As we become more Christ-like in our natures, the power of truth with the tempering of mercy will increase, and the fruitfulness will be evident to all.
We are in process.
This cannot be overemphasized.
In summation, we believe as Christians we have to go no further than the Christ in Christianity to find the most definitive example of Truth and Mercy ever exhibited for and on behalf of mankind.
No other religion can say the same...
Yet we must walk humbly as we share The Good News just as Jesus did.
