The “BEATITUDES” Part 5

“Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7

You cannot be a merciful person overnight. It does not happen out of a new-year resolution or by simply making up a determination.
In the last few days we discussed the first part of the beatitudes, didn’t we?

You and I become merciful only when we are broken first. Mercy comes from a poor and broken spirit. It flows out of an understanding of your spiritual bankruptcy. Secondly, mercy flows out from your weeping, mourning, and grieving over your helpless condition concerning the nagging problem of sin. Thirdly, mercy comes out of your gentle, quiet, and submissive nature to God. And fourthly, mercy becomes a by-product of your hunger and thirst for right living and action and the resultant imputation of God’s righteousness on you by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

All the above conditions we have discussed so far in the last few days make you a merciful person. The first-century Jewish spiritual leaders were not broken or poor in spirit, they won’t mourn over their sins because of their false estimation that they were perfect and without fault, they were not submissive to God and his plans, and they did not thirst for God’s righteousness that was available to them.

Beloved, if you want to be truly merciful in your outlook, character, and behavior, you must be truly broken inside and admit your poverty and helplessness to God. There comes a full flow of mercy into the heart because God shows you His mercy. God fills His mercy inside you. Thereby you become the caravan of mercy to others. You can’t help to fall short of mercy, because you truly got a grip of who you are in the sight of the holy God and as a result, God fills in you with His divine mercy and kindness. You freely receive from God things that you can never get or achieve in yourselves, even with the best efforts.

Today’s insight says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Bible says, “God is rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4). Luke 6:36 Jesus attested, your Father (God) is merciful. Lamentations 3:22 says God’s mercies never come to an end. God’s love and mercies are new every morning. 1st Peter 1:3 says, great is God’s mercy. Psalm 103:11 says God’s grace/loving-kindness toward you is high as heavens are above the earth.

God gives his rich, great, never-ending mercy when you come to him with a broken, bankrupt, mourning, lowly, meek, hungering, and a thirsting heart. Alternatively, a proud, arrogant, self-sufficient, self-righteous, looking down on others and their shortcomings would not see or receive God’s mercy. A poor in spirit, broken, meek, submissive, hungering, and thirsting for God’s help get grace in full measure.

Then Jesus says to you, “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:13). This tells us God desires mercy more than your worship. You see, He fills in you His mercy and asks you to be merciful. He enables you to be merciful by filling his full-blown mercy in you. Jesus said, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:36.

Have you received God’s mercy as of yet? You can give out only what you received. If you haven’t received it, won’t be equipped to give it out. God’s mercy is available in and through the person of Jesus Christ.

Got a moment for today’s prayer? “Father in heaven, I seek and pray for your mercy, grace, and forgiveness. I know I need the savior, Jesus Christ, who paid for my sins and shortcomings. I believe he died and rose again for my righteousness. Fill in me your kindness and mercy by forgiving my sins that I would be merciful to others. May I be a channel of divine mercy to those around me? In Christ’s name, I pray. Amen.”