Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Luke 6:36.

Mercy is an attribute that the human agent may share with God, thus cooperating with Him. Mercy is kind, pitiful. Mercy and the love of God purify the soul and beautify the heart, cleansing the life from selfishness….

God’s love for the angelic host is as a part of Himself, direct and positive in its divinity. God’s love for the human race is a peculiar form—a love born of mercy, for the human subject is all-undeserving….

Mercy implies the imperfection of the object upon which it is bestowed. Because of man’s imperfection, mercy was brought into active existence. Sin is not the object of God’s love, but of His hatred. Yet He pities the sinner, because the guilty one bears the Creator’s image and has received from Him the capabilities that make it possible for him to become a son of God, not through his own merits, but through the imputed merits of Jesus Christ, through the great sacrifice the Saviour has made in his behalf….

In the church militant the children of men will be ever in need of restoration from the results of sin…. We are all dependent on one another. Almost invariably a man who is superior to another man in some respect is inferior to him in other respects. Every human being on earth is subject to temptation. And all are in need of human influence and sympathy…. He who cooperates with God by showing mercy brings himself into a position where God will extend mercy to him, for he is in harmony with the divine attributes.

God’s love and mercy are ever extended toward sinners. Shall men who themselves have sinned against God, refuse to forgive and accept a repentant sinner? … God loved us while we were yet sinners. How clear and unmistakable the line of duty is made by the words, “As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise” (Luke 6:31)…. Only those who walk with Christ can be truly merciful.^{13Letter 202, 1901.}

From That I May Know Him

But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. Psalm 86:15.

God has ordained according to the law of ministry that we should comfort one another in tenderness and love when great sorrows come upon us. No man liveth unto himself. No one dieth unto himself. Life and death both mean something to every human being…. God has enjoined the duty upon His human agents to communicate the character of God, testifying to His grace, His wisdom, and His benevolence, by manifesting His refined, tender, merciful love…. Jesus … was ever touched with human woe, and our hearts should be softened and subdued by His Holy Spirit, that we may be like Him….

Our work is to restore the moral image of God in man through the abundant grace given us of God by Jesus Christ. Everywhere we shall find souls ready to die, and how essential it is that the compassion of Christ shall be given us of Him, in order that we may never place one soul in defiance by not manifesting long forbearance and pitying tenderness…. I inquire, Will we ever learn the gentleness of Christ? Oh, how much we need to know Jesus and our heavenly Father that we may represent Him in character! …

Jesus calls us to Himself not simply to refresh us with His grace and presence for a few hours, and then to send us forth from His light to walk apart from Him in sadness and gloom. No, no. He tells us that we must abide with Him and He with us. Wherever His work is to be done He is present—tender, loving, and compassionate. He has prepared for you and me an abiding dwelling place in Himself. He is our refuge. Our experience should broaden and deepen. Jesus has opened up all the divine fullness of His inexpressible love, and He declares to you, Ye “are labourers together with God” (1 Corinthians 3:9). O what meaning these words have—“Abide in me” (John 15:4), “Take my yoke upon you” (Matthew 11:29). Will we take it? for the promise is, “Ye shall find rest unto your souls.” There is rest, complete rest in abiding in Christ.^{12Letter 1a, 1894.}

From That I May Know Him

For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9.

This world has been visited by the Majesty of heaven, the Son of God…. Christ came to this world as the expression of the very heart and mind and nature and character of God…. But He laid aside His royal robe and kingly crown, and stepped down from His high command to take the place of a servant. He was rich, but for our sake, that we might have eternal riches, He became poor. He made the world, but so completely did He empty Himself that during His ministry He declared, “… the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” …

Christ stood at the head of humanity in the garb of humanity. So full of sympathy and love was His attitude that the poorest was not afraid to come to Him. He was kind to all; easily approached by the most lowly. He went from house to house, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, comforting the mourners, soothing the afflicted, speaking peace to the distressed. He took the little children in His arms and blessed them, and spoke words of hope and comfort to the weary mothers. With unfailing tenderness and gentleness He met every form of human woe and affliction. Not for Himself, but for others did He labor. He was willing to humble Himself, to deny Himself. He did not seek to distinguish Himself. He was the servant of all. It was His meat and drink to be a comfort and a consolation to others, to gladden the sad and heavy-laden ones with whom He daily came in contact.

Christ stands before us as the pattern Man, the great Medical Missionary,—an example for all who should come after. His love, pure and holy, blessed all who came within the sphere of its influence. His character was absolutely perfect, free from the slightest stain of sin. He came as an expression of the perfect love of God, not to crush, not to judge and condemn, but to heal every weak, defective character, to save men and women from Satan’s power. He is the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of the human race.^{11Medical Ministry, 19, 20.}

From That I May Know Him

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. Luke 4:18.

The sufferings of humanity ever touched the heart and called forth the sympathy and love of Christ. He exercised pity and compassion toward those who were afflicted in soul or body. His example in the matter of treating the suffering and afflicted should teach us how to have compassion and pity for the sufferings of His creatures.

Christ suffered in the flesh…. He knew what it was to suffer keen pangs of hunger, and He has given special lessons in regard to feeding the hungry and caring for the needy poor, and has declared that in ministering to the needy we are ministering to Himself in the person of His saints. He says, “I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat” (Matthew 25:35). He knew the discomfort and suffering of thirst, and He declared that a cup of cold water given in His name to any of His disciples should not lose its reward.^{9Manuscript 35, 1895.}

Christ was an active, constant worker. He found the domain of religion fenced in by high, steep walls of seclusion as too sacred a matter for everyday life. He threw down the walls of partition, and exercised His helping power in behalf of every one who needed Him. He brought cheerfulness and hope to the desponding…. He did not ask, What is your creed? To what church do you belong? Active, earnest, loving interest marked His life….

The Lord Jesus knows what poverty means. He is the great missionary to the poor, the sick, the suffering. The King of heaven, He could have led a life of wealth and have lived among the wealthiest; but He chose poverty. And He has honored the poor who believe in Him, for He blessed them forever. Poverty with Christ is riches of the highest value. This poverty is sanctified and blessed….

In the humanity of Christ there are golden threads that bind the believing, trusting poor man to His own soul of infinite love.^{10Manuscript 22, 1898.}

From That I May Know Him

Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right. Proverbs 20:11.

God wants the children and youth to join the Lord’s army…. The children have as strong temptations to meet, on the right hand and on the left, as do the older soldiers. Satan and his legions will work every device to ensnare the young. It is the privilege of the children to enlist in the army of the Lord and seek to persuade others to join their ranks. Children must be educated and trained for Jesus Christ. They must be trained to resist temptation and to fight the good fight of faith. Direct their minds to Jesus as soon as they can comprehend your lessons in simple words, easy to be understood. Teach them self-control. Teach them to begin the work of overcoming when young, and they will receive the precious help that Jesus can and will give, connected with prayerful efforts of parents. Cheer them with encouraging words for the battles they fight in resisting temptation and coming off conquerors through grace given them of Jesus Christ….

Parents should hang in memory’s hall the precious sayings of Christ. The children will repeat the words they hear often on the parents’ lips—of Christ, and faith, and truth. Precious truth may be spoken by children. Whole armies of children may come under Christ’s banner as missionaries, even in their childhood years. Never repulse the desire of children to do something for Jesus. Never quench their ardor for working in some way for the Master. Children rightly educated will learn to love Jesus and to grieve if they think they have grieved the Saviour by any sin committed by them. Keep their hearts tender and sensitive by your own words and example.^{7Manuscript 55, 1895.}

The angels of God are ever near your little ones…. Let love and tenderness, patience and self-control, be at all times the law of your speech. Winning love is to be like deep waters, ever flowing forth in the management of your children. All through His life, Christ performed acts of love and tenderness for the children.^{8The Review and Herald, May 17, 1898.}

From That I May Know Him