But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved).Mercy is the pattern whereby God deals with us, and we are to deal with others.
(Eph. 2:4-5)
It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassion fails not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
(Lam. 3:22-23)
Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.If you will read only the bolded portion of the above scripture, you will see that the Apostle Paul is saying he obtained mercy as a pattern for all those who would come to the Lord.
(1 Tim. 1:16)
He is stating that if God could deal with him in mercy, it would not be a problem for God to deal with anyone else in mercy.
The Amplified Bible sheds more light on Ephesians 2:4. It reads: "But God! So rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us...."
Once we realize that God is rich in mercy and that His mercy is for our use, we can walk boldly into any situation and know we will be victorious. God's mercy will make up for any deficiencies we may have.
"Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we faint not" (2 Cor. 4:1). In other words, our understanding of mercy will enable us to stand and not give up.
'Likewise, Do Ye Also'
This leads us to understand that because God deals with us by mercy, we should deal with others in mercy.
God, our Father, the Most High God, is rich in mercy because of and to satisfy His burning desire to love. He possesses a consuming love, referred to in many verses of Scripture as compassion.
God wants to reach out to the world and show mercy toward it. "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy" (Matt. 5:7). Mercy is the outward expression of God's compassion.
In Ephesians 5, we are told to be imitators of God. God operates in mercy. He is plenteous in mercy. "For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee" (Ps. 86:5).
Mercy In Operation
As imitators of God, we are under obligation to operate in mercy, even toward those who are in problems of their own making.
A good example is Romans 14:1, "Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations." The marginal rendering of this is "...not to judge his doubtful thoughts." This is mercy in operation.
God is full of mercy, and so are we. It is imperative that we become witnesses to the world of His mercy.
When the world sees the mercy of God abounding in us, they will know that God is alive and ready to offer them the forgiveness they need.
by Buddy Harrison & Dr. Michael Landsman.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Buddy Harrison and his wife, Pat, were co-founders of Faith Christian Fellowship International Church. He served as president of the organization from 1978 until he went home to be with the Lord on November 28, 1998. 
