“Blessed [content, sheltered by God’s promises] are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Matthew 5:7 AMP
The Context and Focus:
The messages from the sermon of Jesus on the mountain continues. This is the fifth category of people considered by Jesus as blessed, and this category are the ones Jesus refers to as the merciful. What is mercy? It is defined as 'compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm'. Think about this definition for a moment. Offence would have been committed, and a lawful punishment would have been defined. There would be nothing wrong with applying the punishment, because it is what the offence required, but mercy comes in to show compassion or forgiveness to the offender. If we are to apply this principle to our lives today, we know quite clearly that the punishment for sin is death, and if God applied it, He would have been right, because He had told us quite clearly that the wages of sin is death. Thank God for mercy.
The Message:
It is because of mercy that I am not dead yet. It is because of mercy that I can lay hold of the gift of eternal life, made available through the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is because of mercy that I can also now flow out with the same grace to other people. How can I give that which I do not have, or how can I flow out with that which I have not received? In order to be merciful, I must first have obtained and responded to the mercy of God. I cannot respond to God's mercy outside of the person, influence and direction of Jesus, who is the personification of mercy. As the verse above demands, I come to know that mercy becomes a cycle. As I receive it, and respond to it, it becomes a personal thing, and then I can extend it to other people. No matter how hard you press, or how much you try, if it is not in there, you cannot fake it. There is a limit to human endurance and patience; only by God's grace can a man's life reflect the virtues of today's verse.
The Conclusion:
As usual, there is a reward for everything that Jesus demands. If he demands anything from me, He will supply the grace I need to meet the demand. If I have received mercy, I can give it, and as I give it, God's grace is such that I will get a refill. God does not owe a man anything, and if I am faithful to the call of God upon my life, He will continue to supply all that I need for life and Godliness. The details of God's blessings in the verse above are also instructive, because they make it clear that the one who is merciful will be content, sheltered by God’s promises. When you have God's backing and supply, what can you lack? Men measure life by physical acquisitions; God measures life by how much of it is under His control and influence. If I want my life to count for anything valuable, it has to be given over completely to God. Does God own my life? Can He dictate terms? Can His life really flow in and through me, to impact my generation? God's time of favour is here.
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