A very familiar verse comes at the center of our reading today, which is a portion of scripture that is pronouncing judgment on Israel and Judah for the sins committed. That verse is “I desire mercy and not sacrifice, the knowledge of the Lord more than burnt offerings.” This is a very significant truth that the Jews had a real hard time with, and we still do today. David said something similar in Psalm 51:17 many years earlier when he said ” The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart thou wilt not despise.” The sacrificial system had been set-up by Moses centuries earlier, and the Jews thought this was the only way to please God and to have their sins covered, but here we see that there is something more important than the sacrificial system. Mercy and knowledge. That is because mercy is at the very heart of who God is, and the knowledge of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
In today;’s church we put so much emphasis on things like tithing, prayer, attendance, service and duty that we sometimes forget the main thing – mercy. Mercy is not giving someone what they deserve. God showed us mercy when he sent His Son to take our place on the cross. The ultimate sacrifice! He did not give us the death we deserve, but instead gave us life everlasting. Now that is great mercy. He asks us to pay that forward to others, and especially to those who do not know Him. They need His mercy even if they don’t think they do. That is where the knowledge of the Lord comes in. There are many who do all the right things, but don’t really know God. These need Him as well. They need to understand who He is! He is not just some almighty being who dwells in heaven and leaves this earth to us. He is intimately involved in each of our lives, whether we know it or not!
How do we show this mercy to others? First and foremost, we tell them about Jesus and the good news of God’s mercy. But there is so much more to it. We show mercy by doing good deeds, helping our b=neughbor our, having a good word to say, and sharing their burdens in prayer. Being a light in this dark world goes a long way to helping them know the Lord, because He is always good. Shedding a little light on their path each day will eventually get them to ask questions. and being salt to them will help make them thirsty for the living water. We don’t have to hammer the gospel into them, we need to show them, by mercy, what the knowledge of God really is. May each of us be aware of every word we speak and everything we do, that it will be merciful to those around us.
God's Maintenance Man 