LEARNING DAILY

 

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

 

Jesus overcame death and rose from the grave; no other founder of a religious group has done that.  But there is another major difference between Christianity and other religions in the world.  The gospel contained in Christianity places its primary emphasis on being rather than doing, our attitude and not our actions.  To receive the kingdom of heaven, we must be poor in spirit.  To be filled with righteousness, we must hunger and thirst for righteousness. Before we can act like a Christian, we must be a Christian.  We are Christians – our actions are the result of that; Christianity is meant to control us.  The Beatitudes are meant to help us, not force us to examine ourselves and ask questions about how we are living our lives. 

 

For example, are you merciful?  To answer that question, mercy must first be defined.  Mercy is associated with men in their misery.  It means to have pity towards another person’s suffering and the desire to do something to relieve their suffering.  Mathew Henry’s Commentary states, “We must not only bear our own afflictions patiently, but we must do all we can to help those in misery.  We must have compassion on the souls of others, and help them; pity those in sin, and seek to snatch them as brands out of the burning.”  Lloyd-Jones states,” Mercy is pity plus action.”

 

God looked at man, in his pitiful condition because of his sin and had pity on him.  Because of His grace (God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense) He showed mercy to mankind; the consequences of sin were just too great.  The merciful sincerely want to make the suffering of others due to sin or sorrow less by bringing them to the grace and help offered through Jesus Christ. 

 

Those who show mercy shall receive mercy.  Okay, here is where this verse gets tricky.  It could easily be interpreted to mean, “If I show mercy toward others, God will be merciful to me.”  Think about that.  If the verse is interpreted that way, would you be shown mercy?    Lloyd-Jones refers to a very significant verse that must be addressed at this time.  Romans 5:8 states, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” To be truly forgiven, you must be truly repentant.  That means you must realize you deserve nothing but punishment, and if you are forgiven it is due totally to the love of God and His mercy – nothing else! 

 

When you understand this, you understand the need to extend mercy to those around you.  Do you see the need for salvation in those around you, in the actions of those seen on the news, of those who are running for positions of leadership?  Do you desire for them to see that they are poor in spirit and are nothing when face to face with God?  Do you mourn for the sin of others, and pray that they hunger and thirst for the righteousness that only God can give? 

 

To be merciful is to understand the grace and mercy of God and desire that all would experience this.  It is an attitude toward others; to see those in a state of sin as one to be pitied.

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