Blessed Are the Merciful, For They Will Be Shown Mercy!
February 2, 2025
Scripture: Matthew 5:7
A woman at the check-out counter who had groceries which totaled four dollars more than she had in her purse. A stranger behind her relieved her embarrassment by motioning to the clerk to put the amount on his bill. He refused to give her his name so she could pay him back. A few days later the local newspaper reported that a charity had received a check for four dollars with a note which read: “This check is for the man who helped me out of a tight spot. I am giving it to you as a ‘thank you’ to him.” When we understand what has been done for us, we want to reach out and do the same for others, just as that woman did.
Sadly, many people do not have this perspective. Our natural tendency is to act in sinful, selfish ways. There is deeply ingrained in the human heart an innate hunger for justice. We tend to judge others and look down on others. We have a natural tendency to blame others. We tend to do only as much as we have too, not anymore. We tend to expect or take others mercy for granted. We also have a sinful nature that tends to hold onto bitterness. We simply have a natural tendency not to show mercy.
The Pharisees of Jesus’ day sadly failed the mercy test. Matthew 9:10-13 notes, that Jesus was criticized by the religious leaders for eating with sinners. Jesus said to them, It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. Then in Matthew 12:7 and 23:23 Jesus accused them of insisting on every intricate detail of the law while ignoring the more important matter of mercy.
Now, the only force powerful enough to break this sinful nature, a self-righteous tendency is the mercy of God. It is only with a transformed heart that we can truly be merciful toward others.
Jesus says, Blessed/happy are the merciful. Having an attitude of mercy manifests itself in acts of kindness. Mercy sees the ugly and reaches out to help rather than to look the other way and withdraw. It is showing love of Christ. Showing mercy is one of the loveliest and noblest of all virtues.
Of course, mercy is one of the awe-inspiring attributes of God. Psalm 103:8 says, The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy (NKJV).
The supreme act of mercy was the death of Christ upon Calvary’s cross for our sin. The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 2, Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:3b-5) We would be lost if it weren’t for the abundant mercy of our Heavenly Father.
Titus 3:5 states, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
When a person becomes born again, made alive in Christ, God’s mercy begins to manifest through his/her life. God’s Holy Spirit works in us to experience love, forgiveness, compassion, peace, and joy. Those who have truly experienced God’s mercy want to show mercy to others.
So, how can we grow in the practice of mercy?
1. Ask the Lord to have mercy on you! Experience His mercy in Jesus Christ!
Proverbs 28:13 warns us not to hide, run, or conceal our sinfulness, but confess and turn from our sin. It says, Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
King David after he committed adultery, he prayed in Psalm 51:1,2, Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
Hebrews 4:14-16, Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
We can come boldly to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need is because the Lord Jesus is a merciful high priest who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, who sympathizes with us in our weaknesses.
When we pray from the heart, God, have mercy; Lord, have mercy; Jesus, have mercy, we will find the mercy we need from God!
2. If you are going to grow in showing mercy, realize your own sin and remember God’s amazing grace and mercy.
We tend to forget or take for granted God’s love or forget our own sins and failures. Because of our sinful nature, we tend to emphasize our goodness and minimize our badness. In fact, we tend to condemn others as a means of building ourselves up.
I had to learn and recognize the depth of my sinfulness. When I was in my twenties, I thought I was a little bit better than others. A professional counselor told me not to go into the ministry. As the Lord worked in my life, I recognized my sinfulness. In fact, I felt that I was the chief of sinners. The only problem was Paul claimed it first in Timothy 1:15. If one is going to be ready for ministry, one needs recognize their own sinfulness and God’s amazing grace and mercy.
It is like what Isaiah said before he was sent out in Isaiah 6, Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” Then he experienced the God’s grace and love.
If we do not recognize our own great depravity, we will not be merciful or effective in our ministry to others. In fact, we may be abusive.
In John 8, we learn Jesus began teaching in the temple courts. Some of the teachers of the law and Pharisees brough a woman caught in adultery. They told Jesus she was caught in the act of adultery and what the law said and asked what they should do. John 8:6 and following states, They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
If we are going to show mercy, then we need to realize our own sinfulness and remember Jesus’ love and forgiveness!
3. Grow in understanding and compassion for the struggles of others. See others from God’s perspective.
An aspect of mercy is sympathy and compassion. It is important to identify with others’ pain and struggles. Jesus did not stay in heaven and simply watch our pain and failures. He came down and became human. He felt and experienced poverty. He identified with us so he could deliver us and forgive us.
We need to see other the misery of others through God’s eyes. The Lord looks at the bitter, the drunk, the angry, the lonely, the sad, from the emotional pain from one’s past. He sees the depression, the bitterness or rejection that prompted one’s struggles. It has often been said, “Hurt people, hurt people.” By understanding the hurts of others/why they are hurting makes it easier to love and help them. In dealing with people, it is important to find out why people are upset, why they are acting out.
Sadly, there is a natural tendency not to really care for those who are hurting. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, An expert in the law asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Then Jesus answered by telling how a man was robbed, beaten by robbers, and left him half dead. Then a priest and a Levite did not want to get involved as they passed by on the other side of the road. However, a Samaritan saw the man and took pity on him. He helped him and even paid an innkeeper to look after him. Then Jesus asks the expert in the law who was the neighbor. The man replied, The one who had mercy on him. Jesus then said, Go and do likewise.
4. If you are going to grow in mercy, then forgive!
Let go of bitterness and anger! Ephesians 4:31, 32, states, Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Jesus gives a warning to those who do not forgive as he says in Matthew 6:14, 15, For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Unforgiveness and a lack of mercy in general will hinder your relationship with the Lord. Forgiveness is also part of the process of replacing hurt and resentment with compassion. I learned years ago that it was important to forgive just for my own emotional health.
Some 40 years ago, I was struggling with anger. A box fell on my head at work and I was hurting and mad. I was mad at various people at work. Yet, this carried over to home as I lashed out at my wife several times. Then, I heard a sermon on the parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18:21-35). The parable tells the story of a king whose servant owed him an impossibly hefty sum. He owed the king say a billion dollars. The servant begged for patience to repay this impossible debt. Yet, the king canceled the debt altogether. Then that servant went from the king’s presence and found a fellow servant who owed him like twenty bucks. The fellow servant begged for time to repay. Yet, the servant who the king forgave grabbed him and began to choke him. The servant who the king forgave had this fellow servant thrown into jail. The king got word on what had happened. The king had this servant brought in and said to him, ‘You wicked servant. I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ The king then handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he should pay back all he owed. n anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. Then Jesus said this, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
One of the key principles that I learned and took to heart from the sermon was the need to let go of my anger for my own good. The Lord had forgiven me, showed mercy towards me, forgave me of a huge debt—a billion dollars. So, I needed to let go of my anger and forgive for something in comparison that was minor--for twenty bucks.
5. To grow in showing mercy, develop a sincere love for mercy toward others. Love others, even your enemies.
Micah 6:8 says: 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. We are to love showing mercy.
God desires to show mercy with a heart full of love. The Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 13:3, If I give all my possessions to the poor and do not have love, I gain nothing.
He also said we should not give out of necessity or compulsion for God loves a cheerful giver (II Corinthians 9:7).
Our acts of kindness and mercy should be done out of love, not obligation. We do this as we have a sincere desire to love him with all our being and to love others (Mark 12:30-31). The Lord has also gives us the power to do this through the gift of the Holy Spirit. As we live in the Spirit, he provides us with the fruit of love, patience, perseverance, and self-control (Galatians 5:16, 22-23).
As we desire to love the Lord and others, as we walk in the Spirit, we will come to love our enemies. Jesus demonstrates this as Romans 5 notes that we were sinners/enemies of God, but God demonstrates his love for us as Christ died for us.
Jesus said in Luke 6:35, 36 states, But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
6. Set Healthy Boundaries!
For our own good, we need boundaries in showing mercy to others. I could talk about this topic for weeks but let me share a few important guidelines to have healthy boundaries. You need to be responsible in taking care of oneself. You need to realize that you cannot help everyone as you only have limited time and resources. Be careful not to fall or compromise the truth (Galatians 6:1; Jude 17-23).
You also need to ask, “What is the most loving thing that I can do?” Sometimes, it is meeting a person’s immediate need. Other times, it might be to give them direction to do this or that. There are times when one needs to show tough love. There are people who will not change or want to change if you just give, give, give. Please realize there is a difference between helping and enabling. Note John 6.
One boundary that I generally hold is helping those who come to the church. I get this from the phrase in Acts 2:45, …and gave to the poor among them. Galatians 6:10, Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. I have helped some people outside the church a little bit. However, I am more apt to help people within the Church.
I am also reluctant to share with people who simply do not want to work. Scripture instructs that those who can work should provide for themselves. II Thessalonians 3:6-13 notes that we are not to be idle, but are to work and not be a burden to others. Then he says in verse 10, The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.
Ephesians 4:28 notes we are to work, doing something useful with our own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. Now there is a difference between a person who is unwilling to work and one who is unable to work. A person might be physically or mentally unable to work. There are also those who are working but simply are struggling to make enough money to pay the bills. I have found that people need to work and learn to become financially responsible.
Scripture also notes some boundaries for the widow in the church. The widow is to be over sixty, who does not have children/grandchildren to help, who has been faithful to God and the church and who has real need (I Timothy 5:3-16).
7. To grow in showing mercy, tale to heart God’s promises to bless those who are merciful.
Proverbs 11:25 states, A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
Proverbs 19:17 says, Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.
Proverbs 28:27, Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.
God’s promise is a tremendous motivation to practice the ministry of mercy. One thing that motivates me to show mercy is Jesus’ instruction to store up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21).
Years ago when Kathy and I were putting Aaron to bed. He must have been 5 or 6. We would each take a turn to pray. I remember Aaron praying for the homeless. As a parent, my heart melted. I wanted to bless, love, show mercy to him because of his concern for those who were less privileged.
As I reflect on how I felt, I think how much our Heavenly Father enjoys showing mercy to others.
So, how are we to show mercy? There are so many ways we can show grace and mercy to the people in our lives. Let me run through a list of some of the ways we might show mercy.
Choose loving words. Words are powerful, and they can either help or harm people (Proverbs 12:18).
Be kind to those who offend you.
Speak the truth in love.
Be patient with people’s quirks.
Do good to those who hurt you.
Show understanding and patience.
Apologize! Whenever you make mistakes that have hurt other people, apologize to them.
Do acts of kindness! This might include such things as acknowledging/saying hello to people, doing volunteer work in your community, offering to take care of children or pets, shoveling your neighbors drive, sending someone flowers, or making cookies for someone.
Express gratitude!
Listen!
Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality (Romans 12:13).
Be happy with those who are happy, and cry with those who are crying (Romans 12:15).
A preteen boy was sent to the corner store by his mother to buy a loaf of bread. He took longer than expected. When he returned, his mother asked, “Where have you been? He answered, “There was a little boy with a broken bike who was crying. So, I stopped to help him.” “I didn’t know you knew anything about fixing bikes,” his mother said. He replied, “I do not. I just stayed there and cried with him.”
Do not be critical! Help someone succeed!
The story is told of a little mentally challenged 7th grader who was at a church camp. For the talent show, he wanted to sing the song, Friends Are Friends Forever by Michael W. Smith. He put his accompaniment tape in the boom box, hit play and began to sing. He was way off key. Rhythmically he was not with it. It was just awful. The junior high kids started snickering. But then one of his classmates jumped up, ran up to the stage, threw her arm around Jonathan, grabbed the microphone, and started to sing with him. "Friends are friends forever, cause the Lord's the Lord of them. And a friend will not say never….She sang the whole song with him. And when they got done, there was not a dry eye in that camp that night.
I encourage you to meditate on the Lord’s mercy! Commit to growing in His likeness! Show mercy and God will bless!
Let’s pray.
