What is Mercy All About?

What is Mercy All About? The fifth beatitude – Matthew 5.7

Unless you had a religious upbringing, the word ‘mercy’ probably doesn’t make itself into your vocabulary too much, or unless you are from the South and use it as an exclamation, ‘Mercy!’

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Mercy is a multi-faceted jewel. How I am enjoying the beauty of the Beatitudes Jesus is teaching! If we can but comprehend them, and then seek God in such a way that the Holy Spirit would work these out in us, how rich, how blessed we would be! We bear in mind that each of these ‘blessings’ flow one from another; they are not to be taken out of context, or used alone. Picture a ladder—you cannot step to the fifth rung; rather one step builds on the one before it.

Out of the poor in spirit came those who mourn; and from these two, the meek and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. And now, beautiful mercy. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

The dictionary falls woefully short of a good description of mercy. While mercy is a sort of pardon that is meted out when justice is deserved, it is more than that. It finds its home in the heart of a God who loves beyond measure; and without whom, there would be no mercy. Peter said, “love covers over a multitude of sins.”1 Indeed. (notice the word multitude)

Mercy is –

~a safe place to land

~compassion

~forgiveness

~one deaf ear, one blind eye2

~extending yourself to someone you have a ‘right’ to be mad at

~a heart (and a hand) for the poor

~empathy for the broken

~a cup of cool water

~deferring judgment or harsh opinion

~a Bandaid

From the Old Testament kings and prophets to Jesus and then James, mercy was trumpeted, and expected from God’s people.

For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy to all them that call on you.3 David.

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.4 Micah.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.5 Jesus.

And there’s the story that Jesus told—perhaps you missed its theme. It concluded with this--“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” [You know this story, ‘The Good Samaritan’ . . . but it is all about the one who showed mercy]

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”6

Jesus placed a premium on mercy. And 2,000 years later, he still does. While we have opportunities to show mercy on a daily basis, I think we need to ask God for eyes to see and ears to hear when and where mercy is needed. For instance, someone mentions a colleague struggling with mental illness, who needs prayer—what happens in your head and heart right then? Do you feel compassion, patience, and empathy, even if you don’t understand it?

Friend, are you aware that you know people who need comfort, and that you are in the position to offer it, in some form or another?

The desire to comfort

to encourage

to forgive

to be compassionate. That’s what mercy is all about.

Christine

1 - 1 Peter 4.8

2 – C.S. Spurgeon, in his sermon “Blessed are the Merciful” - I recommend to you that you always have one blind eye and one deaf ear – my blind eye is the best eye that I have, and my deaf ear is the best ear that I have.

3 - Psalm 86.5

4 - Micah 6.7

5 – Matthew 5.7

6 – Luke 10.25-37