Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Matthew 5:7
We live in a world where it's so easy
to become calloused and indifferent. All around are those who are unconcerned
about others and quick to condemn or judge those who fail them. The righteousness of God changes a heart to
one of mercy.
It is important to note
that the Sermon on the Mount is descriptive before it is prescriptive.
Imperatives (what you should do) minus Indicatives (what God has done)
equals Impossibilities.
“Blessed are the merciful” Matthew 5:7a
"merciful" the outward manifestation of pity; to show kindness
Mercy is possible only when we have a
right to sit in judgment with the power to act.
"Grace is God's reaction
to our sinfulness; mercy is His reaction to our misery." Haddon W. Robinson Romans 5:8
How Can We Develop A
Merciful Spirit?
·
Don’t
close your eyes to the hurting.
It’s easier to judge than take
the time to understand.
· Don’t close
your mind to the hurting.
Empathy is inserting yourself into
the emotion and circumstances of another.
· Don’t close
your heart to the hurting
· Don’t close
your hands to the hurting.
All the mercy God could give
man He gave in the cross.
“For they
shall obtain mercy " Matthew 5:6b
Mercy comes from mercy.
Our salvation is not dependent
on whether we show mercy or not. Our "blessedness" is.
Showing mercy is evidence of
our reception of God's mercy.
Displayed mercy will
result in received mercy.
It is not how much we have done so much as why we have done it that is the
concern of Christ for the Kingdom
man.
Mercy requires authority. When we could hate...we love, when we
could condemn…we forgive, when we could criticize...we support.
So
speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who
has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:12-13
