Blessed are the Merciful

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy— Matthew 5: 7.

All do not know it, but it is a fact that the grandest quality that man can exercise, and the one which brings the largest amount of blessing itself, is the exercise of the Godlike quality of mercy, compassion, benevolence. Jesus lays great stress upon this quality of mercy, declaring that whatever else may be our attainments of knowledge or of grace, if we have not this one we can never be acceptable to Him — if we do not have mercy upon others neither will our Heavenly Father have mercy upon us. And to insure that we do not consider this mercy to be merely an outward form, an expression of forgiveness and benevolence, our Lord expounds the matter, saying, "if you don't forgive men [from your hearts -- Matthew 18:35] their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:15) Only the merciful shall obtain mercy; and if we have not mercy at the hands of Yahweh, all is lost; for by nature we were children of wrath, even as others, and under just condemnation. — Ephesians 2:2,3; Z '01, 332; '00, 70 (R 2895, 2585).

Parallel passages: Psalm 18:25; 41:1; Proverbs 3:3; 11:17; 14:21,22,31; 21:21; Mark 11:25,26; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:12,13; 2 Tim. 1:16; Heb. 6:10,11; James 2:13; Matthew 18:35; Micah 6:8; Luke 6:36; Romans 12:8.

Questions: What merciful deeds have I done this week? Why? How? With what results?

SCATTER SEEDS OF KINDNESS

LOVING words will cost but little,
Journeying up the hill of life;
But they make the weak and weary
Stronger, braver for the strife.
Do you count them only trifles?
What to earth are sun and rain?
Never was a kind word wasted,
Never was one said in vain.

When the cares of life are many,
And its burdens heavy grow
For the ones who walk beside you,
If you love them, tell them so.
What you count of little value
Has a most wondrous power,
And beneath that cheering sunshine
Hearts will blossom like a flower.

So, as up life’s hill we journey,
Let us scatter all the way
Kindly words, to be as sunshine
In the dark and cloudy day.
Grudge no loving word, my brother,
As along through life you go,
To the ones who journey with you;
If you love them, tell them so.