Blessed Are The Merciful

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Jesus). As followers of Jesus, again, we are to follow and obey His teachings and His commandments. We are to always strive to live our lives the way He wants us to; the way He lived His life while on this earth. Jesus IS the model of mercy. Jesus taught about mercy in the parable of the unforgiving servant (pp. Matthew 18:23-25); He had shown mercy to the woman caught in adultery (pp. John 8:1-11); and He displayed the ultimate act of love and mercy through the act of forgiveness when He bore our sins us on the cross.

What is the difference between mercy and forgiveness and is there a difference? By definition, mercy is having compassion for or showing forbearance to an offender (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2015). Because of that compassion, we can then show that mercy by acting on it; and acting on it means forgiving the offender; the act of forgiveness offers absolution; a pardon. Paul teaches that the wages of sin is death (p. Romans 6:23); he also teaches in chapter 3 that we are all fall short of God’s glory; we all sin (Nelson, 1997). In order to show mercy we must be willing to forgive. We have to be willing to let the offense go without retribution on our part and trust that God will deal with the offense and the offender at His time. We have to remember that we do sin; every single human being on this earth regardless of race, ethnicity, religious background, sexual orientation, etc. We were all offered mercy through the forgiveness of our sins because Jesus took that penalty for us. Remember that the wages of sin is death. Jesus paid that price for each and every one of us. Be happy to show mercy because you will receive mercy.

Now, I get that not everyone can accept this as truth; I won’t judge. But let me say this, common sense says that a tree does make noise when it falls regardless of whether or not you are there to hear it or see it; barking comes out of the mouth of dogs thousands of miles away whether we hear it or not. God is real and His love, mercy, forgiveness, and offer of eternal life are also real whether you believe it or not. Be blessed.

 

Jesus. (n.d.). The Beattitudes. In Matthew, The Nelson Study Bible NKJV (p. 1583).

Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2015). Retrieved from www.merriam-webster.com

Nelson, T. (1997). The Nelson Study Bible. Nashville.