Mercy is about God

Deeds of mercy provide a foretaste of God's goodness
Our deeds of mercy have a double implication: they point forward to the promise of the new heavens and earth; they also show the beginning of the fulfillment of the promise in the pouring out of the love of Christ through the Spirit. Visiting the prisoner is an example of this: we minister hope to the prisoner, for we proclaim the liberty to the captives that Christ will bring (Lk. 4:18). While the final day of Christ's jubilee is yet to come, it is already present in the saving power of Christ's Spirit.


The ministry of mercy is an offering of praise
The sacrificial system of the Old Testament is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. In thankful praise, we bring to him the offering of ourselves and all that we have (Rom. 12:1,2). We have the privilege of stewardship, using for his glory our time and possessions. The risen body of Christ is not with us so that we might anoint his feet, but we have the poor with us, to serve in his name (Jn. 12:8). Paul shows how the offering for the poor saints in Jerusalem abounds to the praise of God (2 Cor. 9:12-15). The ministry of the Philippian church to the apostle's needs is "a sweetsmelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God" (Phil. 4:18). The author of Hebrews describes the sacrifice of praise of the New Covenant: first, the fruit of our lips, then, "to do good and to share" (Heb. 13:15,16).

taken from position paper