One of my favorite parts of scripture is Matthew chapter 5. This is the beginning of the sermon on the mount. It begins with what we know as the beatitudes. If you’re not familiar with it I suggest that you go and get a bible and check it out. In them Jesus gives what could be seen as a manual for blessing. As in blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth. I don’t know about you but I need more blessing in my life so when I am studying the Bible I am often looking for these kind of instructions.
These beatitudes also apply a little bit of the law of reaping and sowing. For example blessed are those that mourn for they will be comforted. So there we see that when we sow mourning we reap comfort. That’s good being comforted in grief is nice but honestly I’d rather not mourn to much.
But read a little further and we find this awesome verse.
Blessed are the merciful for they will obtain mercy.
That to me is one of the very best promises in the Bible. Let me explain the way I see this. I’m blessed (a good thing) for being merciful (another good thing) and so I will be shown mercy (yet another good thing). The promise of this verse is what I like to call the trifecta of awesome.
We know that living in a state of blessedness is a great place to be. Surpassing providence to reach blessedness should be a goal for every Christian. God’s providential care is what every human being has simply because He cares for all of His creation. Jesus tells us God provides even for little birds so he is caring for people as well. Being blessed is going to the next level. This is God looking out for you in a special way, providing for you beyond the basics.
One way to be blessed is to be merciful as we see in the verse above. Mercy is a divine quality. When we are merciful we are being like God. In fact if you look to the gospel of Luke you see that in chapter 6 verse 36 Jesus say be merciful as your father in heaven is merciful. That almost sounds like a commandment to me.
But what does it mean to be merciful? Where do I start? What does it look like? Good questions I’m really glad you asked. Being merciful means you have to give up a few things. You must give up your malicious desires. But I don’t have those you say. Really? You don’t hope that the person that cut you off in traffic drives into a ditch or some such thing? See somebody wearing his pants in a manner that you wouldn’t and hope they fall down around his ankles and trip hip or hope your favorite restaurant won’t serve him I’d say that’s malicious. It wasn’t that long ago their were men at the beach measuring swimsuits and issuing tickets if they found them to short.
Next give up your desire for revenge. Get-evenism is pretty much the opposite of mercy and that’s what revenge is right? A desire to get even.
Blessed are the merciful for they will obtain mercy. This is an area of my life that I think about constantly. This is my no going back position in the war being waged over me between Worthless and Worthwhile. I will be merciful as my Father is merciful. I will walk in this blessing and I do receive mercy in return. It is my prayer that everyone that reads this will resolve to give up malice and vengeance for the mercy and blessing that are far superior to anything that could come from them.
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