We hear how God is Almighty, Holy, and very patient, but to me His most outstanding quality is MERCY.  When you really think about it, none of us are good, not a single one of us, nor are we very patient, either.  For the most part, people are selfish, spoiled brats, who love nothing more than having their own way, no matter what the cost is to others.  All we have to do is look in the news, and we can readily see how selfish people really are.  People exploit others in order to gain advantage over them, or take their money, natural resources, goods or lands, and I notice the one thing that is always missing is MERCY.
   On the other hand, we read in the Bible about God, who is rich in mercy.  In other words, He is pretty much the absolute opposite of people.  They are out for what they can get, and God always has His hands out offering mercy to those in need.  Though mankind was created in the image of God, that image didn’t stick around long, did it?  Once Satan got involved with mankind, they took on Satan’s nature, which is selfishness.  And God could have left us to cook in our own stew, so to speak, but He richly applied mercy to our fallen condition by showing us the ultimate mercy, the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, to take away our sins.
   We have a story in Mark 10 about Jesus and His disciples on their way to Jericho,
Mar 10:46  And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.
Mar 10:47  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
Mar 10:48  And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
Mar 10:49  And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.
Mar 10:50  And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.
Mar 10:51  And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.
Mar 10:52  And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.
   As blind Bartimaeus kept crying out to Jesus for mercy, those people around him had every opportunity to show poor Bartimaeus some mercy, but instead, they just kept telling him to be quiet.  Shut up, Bartimaeus!  We don’t want to hear your hollering.  Be QUIET!!  But Jesus just happened to have an oversupply of mercy, and was looking for someone to give it to.  And Bartimaeus was apparently hollering the loudest, so Jesus called him.  I find it interesting that Jesus asked Bartimaeus what he wanted, as He watched the poor blind man stumble over to Him.  Who knows, maybe Bartimaeus was hungry, and only wanted a Ham on Rye sandwich.
Instead, he asked for something that seemed impossible.  He asked that he might receive his sight.  I mean, if you’re going to ask for something from God, you might as well ask BIG, right? 
   Well, what happened?  Jesus told Bartimaeus that his faith had made him whole, to go his way.  And immediately Bartimaeus received his sight and followed Jesus in the way.  Did you see that?  Bartimaeus asked the impossible, and Jesus didn’t even argue with him!  In fact, Jesus didn’t do what most religious people do…He didn’t ask Bartimaeus if he had paid his tithes, or repented of his sins, or even if he had forgiven those who had sinned against him.  Jesus simply HEALED Bartimaeus.  And to top it off, Jesus never said to Bartimaeus, Hey Bart, you need to sow into my ministry, it’s good soil.  I heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out devils, walk on water, y’know.  You need to give unto me.  No, Jesus wasn’t about himself; He was always about the other person.  We need to be more like that.
   Do you need some of God’s mercy today?  Do you have a seemingly impossible situation like blind Bartimaeus did?  Are you staggering under the load of more than you can bear?  There is mercy available for you for the asking.  Christ Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, you know.  He was merciful then, so He’s merciful NOW!  What do YOU need?  He wants to know.  Jesus has enough mercy to take care of not only your need, but everyone else’s who comes to Him.
    In case you’re wondering how you can be more like God, show mercy to others, EVEN AS GOD HAS SHOWN MERCY UNTO YOU!  Remember, you were altogether lost in your sins, and God had mercy on you, even to the point of paying the price for your sins HIMSELF.  There are plenty of opportunities to show mercy to others, and you won’t have to look very far if you are really serious about it.  Help someone who genuinely needs help, or feed or clothe the poor.  You can’t help the whole world, but can you help just ONE person?  Sure you can.  After all, you are ONE person, and God had mercy on YOU.  Once you’ve helped one, you’ll find it so joyful, you’ll be looking for another one to help.  Starting today, look for ways to show mercy to others, and watch how God showers mercy on YOU!