Dangerous Mercy: A Novel (41 page)

DISCUSSION GUIDE

1. What do you think Matthew 5:7—“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy”—means? Does mercy have more than one meaning? Can you think of two different ways that Adele showed mercy in this story?

2. Do you agree with Adele that, by its very nature, mercy is risky and can be abused? Can you think of ways a believer could abuse the mercy God has extended to him or her? Why do you think Jesus told the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matt. 18:23–35)? Does that story make you uncomfortable?

3. Do you think Adele was foolish not to heed Isabel’s warning about befriending Noah and Murray? Have you ever been faced with a situation where you chose to obey God and show love to someone in spite of the cautions of friends or family? Did you see positive results? Do you think it’s possible to obey God and not see favorable results? Do you think God “has your back” when you step out in faith with the intention of obeying Him?

4. Do you think the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37) practiced dangerous mercy? Could he have been robbed or killed in his attempt to take the wounded man to shelter? Could the innkeeper have exploited his generosity and charged him more than was actually spent? Why do you think Jesus told His disciples to go and do likewise? What do you think the lesson is here?

5. Have you, like the priest and the Levite in the story of the Good Samaritan, ever passed by someone who needed help because you were afraid to stop, or were too busy, or just didn’t want to get involved? Are we always called to stop when we see someone in need? Does the need always have to be material? Are there incidences when the need is for emotional support? Or spiritual guidance? Or a listening ear? What needs did Murray have? Did it go beyond the material? Who might we come across day-to-day that needs a touch of mercy?

6. Did you understand why Adele didn’t see herself as superior to Murray, not even when she knew his crimes? Have you ever been able to show mercy to someone whose sin, by man’s standards, was much worse than yours? Do you think God rates sin by bad, worse, worst? Is mercy something that is deserved? Or is receiving what we don’t deserve the very nature of mercy?

7. Had Adele been murdered, would that have been proof that she was wrong to reach out to Murray? Did you understand why Isabel chose to quit? Why Pierce didn’t want Grace around the men from Haven House? How might you have reacted, if you were Isabel? If you were Pierce? How might Murray’s life have been different if Adele had chosen to play it safe?

8. There was no excuse for Murray’s violent response to the people who hurt him, but if they had treated him with kindness and mercy, do you think he would have been a different person? Do you think we should be careful how we treat others and teach our children to do the same? Is violence often the response of a person who has been bullied or treated with cruelty or indifference? Can even a sane person let bitterness and anger turn to violence? Can you think of examples from the news?

9. The Father is always the One who draws sinners to Jesus. But He used Adele as a vessel of His love and mercy. What was it about her behavior and conversation that touched Murray? Would those same words have touched him if they had come from someone he hadn’t built a relationship with? Do you think the fact that Adele didn’t come across as judgmental and genuinely cared about Murray made it easier to heed her advice? Have you ever taken someone’s advice, even when it was difficult, because you knew they had your best interests at heart? Could the story have ended this way without the Spirit of God working in Murray’s heart?

10. If you could meet one of the characters in this story, which one would it be? What would you like to say to that person?

11. What did you take away from this story?

www.DavidCCook.com

Best-selling suspense novelist
KATHY HERMAN
has written eighteen novels since retiring from her family’s Christian bookstore business. She has written the best-selling Sophie Trace series—
The Real Enemy, The Last Word,
and
The Right Call
—and
False Pretenses,
the first book in the Secrets of Roux River Bayou series. She and her husband, Paul, have three grown children and five grandchildren and live in Tyler, Texas.