Wednesday, November 20, 2013

What does Merciful look like?


Matthew 5:7

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

What does merciful look like, is it a child who plays with the kid down the street who has a physical disability when know one else will play with him?  Is it the business man who looks past the employee who works hard but does not have the skill set to be a producer, is it the church who ministers to the homeless and the prostitutes, and the drug addicts?  How should we define merciful?  The dictionary has this to say about the subject of being merciful: bringing someone relief from something unpleasant.  It was for sure a merciful act when the child showed love for the one no one else would play with because they were physically disabled.  The businessman carrying a person because he was not able to do better, yet he showed up for work each day and gave 100%, in my opinion this was an act of mercy.  And it goes without question, the church acting like what it is, the body of Christ, was being merciful.

But we live in a culture that is not merciful, a culture with little time for small children, and I’m talking about healthy ones, and the culture has little or no patience with the elderly.  A culture, both in and out of the church, too busy with its on schedule to put much thought into the needs of others.

My life verse is Micah 6:8, “He has showed you, O man, 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?”  God requires mankind to be just, to love mercy, and that means to be kind to all who you encounter, and to walk humbly with God, and does it not go double for the Church?  When we are merciful we act like God, you will find this truth in Luke 6:36, “Be merciful, just as you father is merciful.”  If you keep reading, our Lord is giving us great advice about being merciful and the benefits of those who show mercy.  We can see this ever so clearly in what Jesus goes on to say in verses 37 and 38,  “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”  Once more the question I must ask of myself and of you is; do you believe Jesus tells the truth?

“I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.”  Abraham Lincoln

“I am a most noteworthy sinner, but I have cried out to the Lord for grace and mercy, and they have covered me completely.  I have found the sweetest consolation since I made it my whole purpose to enjoy His marvelous Presence.”  Christopher Columbus

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

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