The Blessing of Being Merciful

The Blessing of Being Merciful

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7

The verse above is explained by Matthew 5:38-48. For more on the outline of the Sermon on the Mount, see the very first post of this blog, entitled The Key to the Sermon on the Mount and posted on Sept. 26, 2014.

  

Matthew 5:38-48 “You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

“You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Blessed are you, happy are you when you have a merciful attitude towards others, declares Jesus. But what does it mean, exactly, to be merciful? And why? Why is it a blessing, why does it make me happy, when I extend mercy to others?

            Jesus tells us the answer in Matthew 5:38-48, and we will look at those Scriptures in depth in the week ahead, but for now let’s focus on being merciful and receiving mercy. Jesus links these two together in the Beatitude, and it is for good reason. They go hand-in-hand; they are opposite sides of the same coin; they are the door that swings both ways to let mercy flow into a person’s life and then flow back out again. A heart that is closed to receiving mercy finds it hard to give mercy while a heart that is open to receiving mercy finds it easy to extend mercy.

            In other words, it all starts with receiving the mercy that God offers us and then extending it to others. Jesus, who was completely sinless and did nothing wrong, died on the cross for us so that our sins might be forgiven; who are we to then turn around and hold sins against people who have hurt us? And if that were not enough, as he hung on the cross breathing his last breath, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

            Now that is mercy! Jesus didn’t call down curses upon those who insulted him, whipped him, and crucified him unfairly; instead he forgave them and prayed for them. He didn’t call down legions of angels to deliver him from the cross; instead he willingly submitted himself to the cruel injustice so that others could be saved by his actions and his example.

            It is this example – this extreme mercy – that must be forefront in our minds as we look at his teaching on mercy. For once again Jesus makes some pretty extreme statements – turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, give to everyone who asks, love your enemy – but could it be that this time he actually wants us to do it? To live such a radical and extreme lifestyle that we actually live like he did, without worldly possessions and nowhere to lay his head?

            This challenge by Jesus to his followers is one of the hardest to live out. Many scholarly writers and religious leaders have therefore tried to explain what Jesus “really meant” when he said those things. After all, to live as Jesus describes in the Sermon on the Mount is impractical and seemingly impossible to do. The wisdom of man would dictate a more conservative approach to life, a moderate lifestyle of doing good deeds when it is convenient and giving a little money away here and there when it seems best.

            But Jesus is neither conservative nor moderate. He is extreme in every sense of the word and He calls his followers to be the same. He calls them to do good deeds all the time, be merciful to everyone, give away everything they own. He calls each of us to pick up our cross and follow him, to be ready not only to die for him, but to live each day for him.

            This kind of radical commitment and extreme lifestyle requires a lot of mercy. Mercy from him to forgive us when we fall short, and merciful attitudes from us towards others so that they too can know the mercy of God. For we are all saved by the same merciful Christ on the cross, and no matter how mean and unlovable our coworker or neighbor seems to be, we can respond with mercy and love because without Christ we would be in the same condition. As someone once said, “Except for the grace of God there go I.”

Pray with me: Lord Jesus, I receive your mercy. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. Help me to take the mercy I have received and extend it to others. I accept your challenge to live for you; help me to live it out day by day, hour by hour, decision by decision. Help me to extend mercy to the people you have placed in my life, even those who are difficult to be around, people such as…continue praying as fits your life situation… 

For further study, meditate on or even memorize this Scripture:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1)

Please use this blog for personal devotional use and feel free to share it with friends and family. However, all publishing rights are reserved. No reproduction or publication of this blog is permitted without the permission of the author, Pastor Randy Brockett of New Song Foursquare Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. To contact Pastor Randy, email him at randybrockett@yahoo.com.