Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:36, NIV)
By now, you’ve probably seen the viral video of the Oklahoma Little League batter at a regional playoff game in Texas who gets hit in the head by a wild pitch and then walks over to console the pitcher. It made national news. One clip of the moment was viewed 22.5 million times on Twitter.
Why did this touch so many people?
Because we need more mercy in this world.
This little boy could’ve been angry that he’d been hit. He could’ve been caught up in the moment, thinking and worrying only about himself. Maybe, he might look for sympathy and adoration from the crowd.
Instead, he saw a peer on the opposing team in deep, emotional pain and walked over to the mound to say, “Hey, you’re doing great. Let’s go.”
In Matthew 25:34-40, we find a parable from Jesus on how to show mercy to those in need:
Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”
The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
The young batter reminds us that emotional hurt can be just as painful as the physical and that sometimes it’s the injured who must show mercy.
How can we show mercy to friends and strangers alike in the heat of battle? How can we be more tenderhearted toward those who hurt us – intentionally or not?
PRAYER: Father God, forgive us of all the times we knowingly walk past a need. Forgive us of the times we’d rather make someone who hurt us feel worse than tell them, “It’s OK.”