Rescue the Captive: A Work of Mercy

Having a purpose in life is one thing, having a Biblical purpose that aligns to one’s mode of operation. As a result from training received from the Devos Urban Leadership Initiative, I have learned about a concept that is as old as Christianity, the works of mercy. These works are primarily found in the histories of Calvinism, the Presbyterians and the Catholics. Works of mercy are basically acts of love that God performed and demonstrated by first loving us. There acts including —feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, visiting the imprisoned and burying the dead. The first six of these works are found in the Last Judgment parable in Matthew 25:34-45. Having learned about the works, it is clear that my life has always centered on the mercy task of “rescuing the captive.” As a result, this blog will have new directive, to reflect the direction my life has taken in ministry and to share lessons learned in the process. My desire has become to empower others with the Biblical directive to rescue the captive.

Biblical examples of mercy can be found if we look closely at the Good Samaritan in the parable of Luke 10:25-37. In this passage, there was a man lying wounded along the road. This man received mercy on that day from a Samaritan willing to step into chaos and set the captive free. Showing the works of mercy often means that one must be willing to a step into the chaos of another. 

Showing mercy as Jesus demonstrated should be practiced early and often. In the middle ages, the monasteries become centers for extraordinary mercy due to the growing needs of the days: the fact that people were hungry, thirsty, homeless, without clothing, sick, incarcerated and in need of burial services. It took several centuries before becoming a cornerstone of the Christian life.As it was in the past, so too is the need ever present to show mercy. Not only should we show mercy but a discipleship process must follow. From this point onward, this blog has a new focus…All future and even some past articles will be written to reflect this new and necessary direction of entering into the chaos of orders to make them strong. But this alone is not enough. We must be willing to teach others how the process of rescuing the captive works.