Jump Start # 155

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

  Mercy is an act of kindness and grace. Mercy comes from the heart of the one who has been wounded. Mercy is the attitude and step that leads to forgiveness. Without mercy there is no forgiveness. Mercy replaces getting even.

  In James we read, there is no mercy to the one who is merciless.

  This simple verse contains two directions. First, from our heart to the one that has hurt us. To that person we extend mercy. Based upon our actions, God extends mercy to us. Later in this sermon Jesus would say that if we do not forgive others then God will not forgive us. How we treat others has a direct bearing upon how God will treat us.

  Extending mercy is hard. Our nature wants justice. We want the other guy to hurt for hurting us. Lawsuits, verbal confrontations, being mean towards them are the common reactions people have when they have been hurt. We say, ‘it’s not right what they did.’ And that’s right, it’s not. We say, ‘It’s not fair that they get away with this.’ That too is right. They shouldn’t and in the end they won’t, God will take care of all things. But where we cross the line is refusing to extend mercy. We just cut them off. They are no longer a friend and no longer included in my life, invited to my events and completely shunned. We even justify our actions by saying, ‘I could have done something really mean to them but I didn’t.’ But what we did not do is extend mercy, forgive them and maintain a relationship. That’s hard.

  Forgiveness and mercy are always hardest on the one who has to forgive. Grace and mercy do not make a whole lot of sense. The driving factor is love and wanting the best for the other person. We do this because God has first done this to us.

  In the string of beatitudes, following the hunger to be right comes the blessing of forgiveness or “rightness.” But before this can happen, we must be merciful. This again, is the characteristic of the citizens of the kingdom. The world is hard and unforgiving, not God’s people. The world is demanding, not God’s people. The world won’t forget, not God’s people. There are no second chances with the world, but there are with God’s people.

  To be merciful is to be kind and generous. Mercy is a choice. Mercy is an attitude. Just think of all the places mercy fits in:

• Among husbands and wives for the mistakes and sins they do to each other
• Parents toward their children. We often expect perfection out of them when we don’t live that way ourselves.
• Among brethren. We often expect more from them and give them the least mercy.
• People at work
• Neighbors

  In fact, it’s hard not to find a place where mercy is needed or fits.

  The merciful are a blessed people. They are giving others another chance and by doing that the God of Heaven is giving them another chance.

Roger