The Source of Mercy

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

The fifth happy instruction in the beatitudes deals with mercy. Mercy is an appeal used in judgment situations. It is when someone in an authority position shows compassion, love, and forgiveness toward someone undeserving of this benevolence.

In the first gospels of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, and Luke give eleven examples of people asking Jesus for mercy. In every situation when asked for mercy Jesus gives it. And we find out why Jesus was so giving in the mercy department. Oh yes, I know He is God and that is just what God does. But why?

The answer is ...

Ephesians 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. It is only by God's grace that you have been saved! 

The answer is …..

Because of His great big love for people.

We will always be shown mercy from our loving God even when (and especially when) we don’t deserve it.

Our lesson from Jesus in Matthew 5:7 is to pass out the mercy. When someone does not deserve our compassion, love, and forgiveness we are supposed to give it anyway. The offender doesn't have to meet our standard or earn it. We are supposed to just give it as Christ gave us mercy. And we get to walk away happy. I know this sounds all “Susie Spiritual” because it is not that easy for us to give out mercy to the undeserving and walk away happy.

Mercy doesn't come from us as easily as it does from Jesus. It's just like a Sudoku puzzle I was working with the heading “Very Easy.” It wasn't true. It was HARD. Finally I had to look in the back for help from the source of the infamous puzzle.

We have to make ourselves consciously be merciful. And it can be HARD to do. We have to go to the source of mercy and use that mercy to give to the unworthy. We have to depend on God to give us the want to for the mercy giving. And when we think about it in this way we realize just how much love God has freely unconditionally given to us so that we can give it to others. Not “Susie Spiritual” but “Rita Reality.”

 

Having a hard time forgiving?

Still angry at someone who has asked for your mercy?

Exasperated with someone who has hurt you and is unrepentant?

Can’t work up any love for the offender?

Need some help in the mercy department?

Go to the source.

He’ll give you all the mercy you need to handle the situation.

Then you can walk away happy.