Blessings in Mercy
Matthew 5:7 Great blessings belong to those who show mercy to others. Mercy will be given to them.
What do you think of, when you hear the word … “mercy”? What picture, what image springs to mind? Some action scene from a movie where the sword is poised over the throat of an opponent?
Well? What does mercy mean to you?
It seems to me that there are two sides to this mercy thing – receiving mercy and showing mercy.
Be honest. There are times when we do stupid things. There are times when we just get it wrong, and eventually it catches up with us. Eventually there are consequences. Whether it’s running a red light and hearing the police siren behind you, or some form of dishonesty or moral failure and you get found out, or even a seemingly small but regular omission, that eventually leads to the breakdown of a relationship.
And at that point where our failure is discovered or perhaps when it eventually comes to a head, we stand to lose something. We look at what we’ve done wrong, we know it was wrong, and what we yearn for is for the other person simply to forgive us.
Yep, when we’re in need of mercy, when we need the world to cut us a break, mercy is a commodity that we value very highly indeed. Think back to the last time you needed someone just to forgive you so that you could avoid the consequences of your failure. How did it feel? What did your heart yearn for?
But showing mercy – that’s a whole different thing. When you have the power to give or take over someone else, someone who’s done you wrong, someone who deserves to live out the consequences of their failure, how do you respond?
Be honest. What’s your natural tendency? Do you tend to insist on what you’re entitled to, or are you more inclined to show … mercy? In fact, let’s bring that question even closer to home still. Who, in your life right at this moment, though they don’t deserve it, desperately needs you to show them some mercy?
In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said this:
Great blessings belong to those who show mercy to others. Mercy will be given to them. (Matthew 5:7)
It turns out that in God’s economy, the two sides of the mercy ledger are linked. When it comes to showing mercy, what swings around, comes around.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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