“Blessed are the merciful...” (Matthew 5:7 NIV)
There are rare species of plants and animals in the world, and then
there are those endangered species that conservationists are trying to
keep from going extinct. There is something else in life //that is so
rare that it is almost extinct: mercy toward others. Yet the Bible
says, “Blessed are the merciful….” “Blessed” means spiritually happy,
filled with spiritual joy and energy, and the favor of God. Why is the
person blessed, according to Scripture? Because they’re merciful!
It is sad to say, but not all Christians have God’s favor /working out
in their lives on a daily basis. You could run into a Christian
//who has
been sitting /in the same pew /every Sunday /for the past twenty years.
The person is cranky, parched and dry in their soul, hypercritical,
given to mood swings, and with no flow of God’s blessing and grace in
their life. And you could just ruin their day by mentioning certain
people; their countenance changes and they can go from being happy /to
seething just at the mention of the wrong name.
You could then meet
another person, who has been sitting in the same aisle in church /as the
first person, but they’re happy and joyful and there’s a flow of grace
out of their life. They bear fruit, encourage others, and have a peace
//that passes understanding, no matter what is happening around them.
Even if they slip and fall—because they’re human—God quickly restores
them. What is the difference /between those two Christians? One is
struggling because they have rancor, resentment, bitterness and
unforgiveness /throughout their whole life; while the other one is
blessed, because they are merciful.
How many of us have lost out on the blessing of God, on the things God
wants to do in our lives, because we’re unmerciful with people? We
don’t show pity to those who are in trouble, and we’re not looking /to
reconcile with people //who have hurt and offended us. If you find this
to be something //that is beyond our human capability, you’re right!
That’s because mercy is actually more than forgiveness. It’s part of
grace, but it’s even more than grace. It’s an aggressive word; it’s
what Jesus meant /when he said, “Go out and get people //who actually hate
you and make peace with them and get them to love you.” That’s how the
merciful treat others.
But, alas, the merciful are almost extinct now. Check it out /on social
media; tell me how much mercy you see. Check it out in politics, where
instead of showing mercy, many are saying, “Show me the jugular!”
Unfortunately, this includes Christians as well. Many are more
political than they are spiritual; they are more racial than they are
Christian. They’re white or black or Republican or Democrat or
conservative or liberal; they’re that first, and then there might be a
little left over for Christianity. I don’t know about you, but I want
to be a Christian first—a merciful Christian experiencing God’s grace
and mercy in my own life.
To be continued…
Read Matthew 5:1-7.