We call love ‘mercy’ when it is given to a wrongdoer. Mercy is the face of love directed to sinners, and it is how God looks at us. 1 Peter 4:8 teaches, “love covers a multitude of sins.” The love that God has for sinners (his mercy) truly does wipe away sins. When we show mercy to a wrongdoer, we are choosing to forgive their sin and therefore wipe it from our minds. In showing mercy, we give up even the thought of vengeance for the injustice that has been done to us.
 
This raises a good question: does showing mercy eliminate the need for justice to be done? Does showing mercy mean that ‘all is well’ and we should act as if the sins against us never happened? If we answer that mercy  eliminates the need for justice, then we get stuck in this unreal (and unhealthy) way of living. A better answer is that mercy  surpasses justice. Yes, to show mercy means that you have given up your right for revenge, and that you have softened the soil for reconciliation to take place. In doing this, mercy actually calls for justice, that what was unjustly taken from the relationship may be restored.
 
When God shows us mercy, he provides a  penance for us, not because he is angry or vengeful, but in all justice to help us make our due return to him. When you show mercy to someone who sinned against you, know that you are giving up your desire to retaliate even as you ask to be treated better in the future. Justice and mercy work together to bring forth the reconciliation between peoples and God.