Luke 6:36 :

Therefore be merciful, even as your Father is also merciful.

Since we are in a Father-son relationship with God, we should be merciful just like our Father is. One way to look at this is to consider God’s patience in not giving us what we really deserve. Some people think that because they haven’t been punished by God, that God has simply “forgiven” them and just ignores what they do wrong. This isn’t the case at all. In fact, the Bible says that God is being patient. Consider this verse:

2 Peter 3:9 :

The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but is patient with us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

God’s patience in not giving mankind what he deserves is a sign of how very merciful He is. He doesn’t want anyone to be punished but wants everyone to change. Since we are to be merciful like God is, we need to be patient with those who haven’t changed their ways yet, hoping that they will turn away from sin and be saved from punishment with us. God has put off Jesus’ return for 2,000 years waiting patiently for people to turn from evil. He isn’t ignoring evil. He’s just very patient and merciful. Even though God is outside of time, but He uses time to reveal His patience. He is very aware of the time that evil people are allowed to exist.

So, by the power of the Holy Spirit that we have within us, we need to also be patient as we wait for all the people that God will save.

Another thing to consider is how willingly Jesus gave up His life to save mankind. Jesus was perfect, but he was treated as if He had done all of the sin that mankind has ever committed so that He could have mercy on us. When we think of what He gave for us, we gain the proper motivation for showing mercy to others. Having mercy like this really is an impossible task for us to do naturally, but by God’s power, we can do it.