Will You Imitate God’s Mercy?
“Become imitators of God, as beloved children.”—EPHESIANS 5:1.
1. Why should imitating others be of concern to all of us?
FOR good or for bad, most people imitate others. The ones whom we are around, and whom we may imitate, can measurably affect us. The inspired writer of Proverbs 13:20 warned: “He that is walking with wise persons will become wise, but he that is having dealings with the stupid ones will fare badly.” With good reason, then, God’s Word says: “Be an imitator, not of what is bad, but of what is good. He that does good originates with God.”—3 John 11.
2. We ought to imitate whom, and in what ways?
2 We have excellent Bible examples of men and women whom we can imitate. (1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1; Philippians 3:17) Yet, the foremost one for us to imitate is God. At Ephesians 4:31–5:2, after noting traits and practices that we should avoid, the apostle Paul urged that we be “tenderly compassionate, freely forgiving one another.” This led to the key exhortation: “Therefore, become imitators of God, as beloved children, and go on walking in love.”
3, 4. God provided what description of himself, and why should we give consideration to his being a just God?
3 What are God’s ways and qualities that we should imitate? There are many aspects of his personality and acts, as can be seen from the way he described himself to Moses: “Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and truth, preserving loving-kindness for thousands, pardoning error and transgression and sin, but by no means will he give exemption from punishment, bringing punishment for the error of fathers upon sons and upon grandsons.”—Exodus 34:6, 7.
4 Since Jehovah is “a lover of righteousness and justice,” we should definitely get to know and imitate this facet of his personality. (Psalm 33:5; 37:28) He is the Creator, as well as mankind’s supreme Judge and Statute-Giver, so he expresses justice toward all. (Isaiah 33:22) This is clearly indicated in the way he required justice and caused it to be carried out among his people Israel and later within the Christian congregation.
Divine Justice Carried Out
5, 6. How was justice manifested in God’s dealings with Israel?
5 When choosing Israel as his people, God asked whether they ‘would strictly obey his voice and indeed keep his covenant.’ Assembled at the foot of Mount Sinai, they answered: “All that Jehovah has spoken we are willing to do.” (Exodus 19:3-8) What a serious undertaking! By means of angels, God gave the Israelites some 600 laws, which they, as a people dedicated to him, were responsible to keep. What if someone would not do so? A specialist in God’s Law explained: “The word spoken through angels proved to be firm, and every transgression and disobedient act received a retribution in harmony with justice.”—Hebrews 2:2.
6 Yes, an Israelite who would not obey faced “retribution in harmony with justice,” not deficient human justice, but justice from our Creator. God stipulated various penalties for lawbreaking. The most serious penalty was ‘cutting off,’ or execution. That applied to grave violations, such as idolatry, adultery, incest, bestiality, homosexuality, child sacrifice, murder, and misuse of blood. (Leviticus 17:14; 18:6-17, 21-29) Moreover, any Israelite who willfully, unrepentantly violated any divine law could be “cut off.” (Numbers 4:15, 18; 15:30, 31) When this divine justice was carried out, the effects might well be felt by the wrongdoer’s descendants.
7. What were some consequences of the executing of justice among God’s ancient people?
7 Such penalties underscored the gravity of breaking divine law. For example, if a son became a drunkard and a glutton, he was to be brought before mature judges. If they found that he was a deliberate, unrepentant wrongdoer, the parents were to share in executing justice. (Deuteronomy 21:18-21) Those of us who are parents can imagine that it was not easy to do that. Yet God knew that it was needed so that wickedness would not spread among true worshipers. (Ezekiel 33:17-19) This was arranged by the One about whom it could be said: “All his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, with whom there is no injustice; righteous and upright is he.”—Deuteronomy 32:4.
8. How did justice mark God’s dealings with the Christian congregation?
8 After many centuries God rejected the nation of Israel and chose the Christian congregation. But Jehovah did not change. He was still committed to justice and could be described as “a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:29; Luke 18:7, 8) He therefore continued to have a provision to instill godly fear in the entire congregation by expelling wrongdoers. Dedicated Christians who became unrepentant wrongdoers were to be disfellowshipped.
9. What is disfellowshipping, and what does it accomplish?
9 What is involved in disfellowshipping? We find an object lesson in the way a problem was handled in the first century. A Christian in Corinth engaged in immorality with his father’s wife and did not repent, so Paul directed that he be expelled from that congregation. This had to be done to protect the cleanness of God’s people, for “a little leaven ferments the whole lump.” Expelling him would prevent his wickedness from dishonoring both God and His people. The severe discipline of being disfellowshipped might also shock him to his senses and instill in him and the congregation due fear of God.—1 Corinthians 5:1-13; compare Deuteronomy 17:2, 12, 13.
10. How are God’s servants to respond if someone is disfellowshipped?
10 The divine command is that if a wicked one is expelled, Christians must “quit mixing in company with [him] . . . , not even eating with such a man.”a He thus is cut off from fellowship, including socializing, with loyal ones who respect and want to walk according to God’s law. Some of them might be relatives outside the immediate family, not a part of the same household. It may be hard for those relatives to apply this divine directive, even as it was not easy for Hebrew parents under the Mosaic Law to share in executing a wicked son. Still, God’s command is clear; thus we can be sure that disfellowshipping is just.—1 Corinthians 5:1, 6-8, 11; Titus 3:10, 11; 2 John 9-11; see The Watchtower, September 15, 1981, pages 26-31; April 15, 1988, pages 28-31.
11. How could various aspects of God’s personality become manifest in connection with a disfellowshipping?
11 Remember, though, that our God is not merely just; he is also “abundant in loving-kindness, pardoning error and transgression.” (Numbers 14:18) His Word makes clear that a disfellowshipped person may repent, seeking divine forgiveness. Then what? Experienced overseers may meet with him to determine prayerfully and carefully whether he is giving evidence of being repentant over the wrongdoing that led to his being disfellowshipped. (Compare Acts 26:20.) If so, he may be reinstated in the congregation, as 2 Corinthians 2:6-11 indicates happened with the man in Corinth. Yet, some expelled ones have been away from God’s congregation for years, so can anything be done to help them see the way back?
Justice Balanced With Mercy
12, 13. Why should our imitating God include more than reflecting his justice?
12 The foregoing has dealt primarily with one aspect of God’s qualities, as mentioned at Exodus 34:6, 7. Those verses, however, outline much more than God’s justice, and those who want to imitate him do not focus solely on enforcing justice. If you were making a model of the temple built by Solomon, would you study only one of its pillars? (1 Kings 7:15-22) No, for that would hardly give you a balanced picture of the nature and role of the temple. Similarly, if we desire to imitate God, we need to copy also others of his ways and qualities, such as his being “merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and truth, preserving loving-kindness for thousands, pardoning error.”
13 Mercy and forgiveness are fundamental qualities of God, as we see from the way he dealt with Israel. The God of justice did not exempt them from punishment for repeated error, yet he displayed ample mercy and forgiveness. “He made known his ways to Moses, his dealings even to the sons of Israel. Jehovah is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness. He will not for all time keep finding fault, neither will he to time indefinite keep resentful.” (Psalm 103:7-9; 106:43-46) Yes, a retrospective view of his dealings over hundreds of years proves those words true.—Psalm 86:15; 145:8, 9; Micah 7:18, 19.
14. How did Jesus show that he imitated God’s mercifulness?
14 Since Jesus Christ “is the reflection of [God’s] glory and the exact representation of his very being,” we should expect him to display similar mercy and willingness to forgive. (Hebrews 1:3) He did, as his actions toward others show. (Matthew 20:30-34) He also stressed mercy by his words that we read in Luke chapter 15. The three illustrations there prove that Jesus imitated Jehovah, and they provide vital lessons for us.
Concern for What Was Lost
15, 16. What prompted Jesus to give the illustrations in Luke 15?
15 Those illustrations testify to God’s merciful interest in sinners, painting a harmonious picture for us to imitate. Consider the setting of the illustrations: “Now all the tax collectors and the sinners kept drawing near to [Jesus] to hear him. Consequently both the Pharisees and the scribes kept muttering, saying: ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’”—Luke 15:1, 2.
16 All the people involved were Jews. The Pharisees and the scribes prided themselves on their supposed punctilious adherence to the Mosaic Law, a sort of legalistic righteousness. God, though, did not agree with such self-proclaimed righteousness. (Luke 16:15) Evidently, the tax collectors mentioned were Jews who collected taxes for Rome. Because many exacted excessive sums from fellow Jews, tax collectors were a despised group. (Luke 19:2, 8) They were classed with “sinners,” which included immoral persons, even harlots. (Luke 5:27-32; Matthew 21:32) But Jesus asked the complaining religious leaders:
17. What was Jesus’ first illustration in Luke 15?
17 “What man of you with a hundred sheep, on losing one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine behind in the wilderness and go for the lost one until he finds it? And when he has found it he puts it upon his shoulders and rejoices. And when he gets home he calls his friends and his neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost.’ I tell you that thus there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner that repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who have no need of repentance.” The religious leaders could understand the imagery, for sheep and shepherds were a common sight. Out of concern, the shepherd left 99 sheep to graze in familiar pasturage while he went searching for a stray. Persisting until he found it, he tenderly carried the frightened sheep back to the flock.—Luke 15:4-7.
18. As highlighted in Jesus’ second illustration in Luke 15, what gave rise to rejoicing?
18 Jesus added a second illustration: “Or what woman with ten drachma coins, if she loses one drachma coin, does not light a lamp and sweep her house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it she calls the women who are her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the drachma coin that I lost.’ Thus, I tell you, joy arises among the angels of God over one sinner that repents.” (Luke 15:8-10) The drachma was worth nearly a day’s wage for a laborer. The woman’s coin may have been an heirloom, or it may have been part of a set made into jewelry. When it was lost, she searched hard to find the coin, and then she and her women friends rejoiced. What does this tell us about God?
Heavenly Rejoicing—Over What?
19, 20. Jesus’ first two illustrations in Luke 15 were primarily about whom, and what central point did they make?
19 These two illustrations were in response to criticism of Jesus, who some months earlier had identified himself as “the fine shepherd” who would give his soul for his sheep. (John 10:11-15) Nonetheless, the illustrations were not primarily about Jesus. The lessons that the scribes and the Pharisees needed to learn centered on God’s attitude and ways. Thus, Jesus said that there is joy in heaven over a sinner who repents. Those religionists claimed to serve Jehovah, yet they were not imitating him. Jesus’ merciful ways, on the other hand, represented the will of his Father.—Luke 18:10-14; John 8:28, 29; 12:47-50; 14:7-11.
20 If one out of a hundred was a basis for joy, one coin out of ten was more so. Even today, we can sense the emotions of the women rejoicing over finding the coin! Here, too, the lesson centers on heaven, in that “the angels of God” rejoice with Jehovah “over one sinner that repents.” Note that final word, “repents.” These illustrations were really about sinners who repent. And you can see that both stressed the appropriateness of having joy over their repentance.
21. What lesson should we learn from Jesus’ illustrations in Luke 15?
21 Those misguided religious leaders who felt smug over superficial compliance with the Law overlooked God’s being “merciful and gracious, . . . pardoning error and transgression and sin.” (Exodus 34:6, 7) Had they been imitating this aspect of God’s ways and personality, they would have appreciated Jesus’ mercy toward sinners who repented. How about us? Are we taking the lesson to heart and applying it? Well, note Jesus’ third illustration.
Repentance and Mercy in Action
22. Briefly, what did Jesus give as a third illustration in Luke 15?
22 This has often been called the illustration of the prodigal son. Yet, in reading it you may see why some think of it as the parable of a father’s love. It tells of the younger son in a family, who obtains his inheritance from his father. (Compare Deuteronomy 21:17.) This son leaves for a distant land, where he squanders all in debauchery, has to take up the work of herding swine, and is even reduced to hungering for the food of swine. He finally comes to his senses and decides to return home, if only to work for his father as a hired laborer. As he nears home, his father takes the positive step of welcoming him, even holding a feast. The older brother, who had remained at home working, resents the mercy shown. But the father says that they should rejoice because the son who was dead now lives.—Luke 15:11-32.
23. We should learn what from the illustration of the prodigal son?
23 Some scribes and Pharisees may have felt that they were being compared to the older son, in contrast with sinners who were like the younger son. Did they, though, grasp the key point of the illustration, and do we? It highlights an outstanding attribute of our merciful heavenly Father, his willingness to forgive on the basis of a sinner’s heartfelt repentance and conversion. It should have moved listeners to respond with joy at the redemption of repentant sinners. That is how God views matters and how he acts, and those imitating him do likewise.—Isaiah 1:16, 17; 55:6, 7.
24, 25. What ways of God should we be seeking to imitate?
24 Clearly, justice marks all of God’s ways, so those who want to imitate Jehovah treasure and pursue justice. Still, our God is not motivated by mere abstract or rigid justice. His mercy and love are great. He shows this by a willingness to forgive based on genuine repentance. It is fitting, then, that Paul linked our being forgiving with our imitating God: “[Be] freely forgiving one another just as God also by Christ freely forgave you. Therefore, become imitators of God, as beloved children, and go on walking in love.”—Ephesians 4:32–5:2.
25 True Christians have long tried to copy Jehovah’s justice as well as his mercy and willingness to forgive. The more we get to know him, the easier it should be for us to imitate him in these respects. How, though, may we apply this toward a person who has justly received severe discipline because he pursued a course of sin? Let us see.
[Footnotes]
a “Excommunication in its most general sense is the deliberate act whereby a group denies the privileges of its membership to those who were once members in good standing. . . . Excommunication came in the Christian era to refer to an act of exclusion by which a religious community denies to offenders the sacraments, congregational worship, and possibly social contact of any kind.”—The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.
What Have You Learned?
◻ How was God’s justice manifested in the congregation of Israel and in the Christian congregation?
◻ Why should we imitate God’s mercy, in addition to his justice?
◻ What gave rise to the three illustrations in Luke chapter 15, and what lessons should they teach us?
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Plain of er-Raha before Mount Sinai (left background)
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Pictorial Archive (Near Eastern History) Est.
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Garo Nalbandian
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Garo Nalbandian