The Blessing of Mercy

We have now entered the season of Lent.  For many Christians, Lent is taken as a time of preparation for the celebration of Easter where God miraculously redeemed mankind by resurrecting His Son from the dead. It is also a time to consider what Jesus said and did; and how we should be living in light of His Words.  ✞ ♥

During this season, here on the Seeking Him devotional blog, we have chosen to focus our devotionals on Jesus’ instructions and admonition communicated in Matthew chapter 5—the Beatitudes.  Jesus said, “Blessed are…” and He went on to give instruction as to how to be “blessed.”  To be ‘blessed’ is to ‘be happy, or to be envied.’   Truly for the Christian, we ARE blessed—oh, how very blessed we are!  Those who observe our lives should clearly be able to tell that we ARE blessed—and that we KNOW it! ✞ ♥

Please consider Jesus’ instructions along with us.  We pray that our words will encourage you and spur you on to be prepare your hearts for the joyous celebration of His Resurrection!  ✞ ♥

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Matthew 5:7

The Beatitudes were not given as commands but as realities for those who are part of Christ’s Kingdom.  We might call them Kingdom-Characteristics or Kingdom-Evidences.  They describe the believer; and, by the same token, they are effective instruments to root out unbelief in the heart and expose an unregenerate condition.  They do reflect attitudes of the heart, but they also explain the way believers will relate not only to God but also to those about them.  Without attempting to slice them too neatly, it does appear that the first four Beatitudes focus primarily on the believer’s relationship with God, while the latter four aim primarily toward others.  All of the Beatitudes have to do with Kingdom Life, and thus each of them will impact all of our relationships.

We speak of having mercy, or showing mercy, or being merciful, but we don’t speak of mercy-ing someone.  Yet mercy is more than a feeling–it’s something that is apparent in our actions.  As Christians, we have been on the receiving end of God’s merciful acts; and so we should be the first to make mercy a characteristic of our lives.

In Matthew 18, Jesus tells the story of a king who forgave one of his slaves who owed him a lot of money.  Although the slave had been forgiven a great debt, nevertheless he went out and had a man thrown in prison who owed him a relative pittance.  The king’s retribution against the slave was severe, because the slave was unwilling to show the same kind of mercy he had received.  Jesus told the story in answer to Peter’s question, “How many times should we forgive someone?”  This is how the Kingdom of Heaven operates, Jesus is saying…as much as mercy has been shown to you (and, in Christ, we have been shown greater mercy than we can comprehend), you show that mercy to others.

The previous Beatitudes have referred to blessings poured out upon those who are oppressed, weak, and in need of mercy.  This Beatitude directs those who might be in a position to help such people to show mercy. I think other Biblical teaching, particularly the example set by the early church in Acts 4, indicates that the Christian’s first object of mercy should be those within the Church. Every church has people who are in need of help—whether physical, financial, or spiritual—and the Body of Christ should be willing to help those people.

But then, every church should also look beyond their own walls to the community, and seek ways to show the love and mercy of Christ to those outside the church. And not simply as a tool to get them to come to church. But rather as a genuine, compassionate outreach that God might be pleased to use us to affect people’s lives–that we might be conduits of the Spirit’s blessings to people who desperately need Him. We can’t change people’s hearts but, through our actions, we can demonstrate the love and mercy of the One who can. It just might be that God would use us to draw people to Himself.

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Lord, thank You for Your mercy upon us. Let the Holy Spirit help us show mercy as a sign of love, too. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

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