Mercy

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

The first four Beatitudes that I have written about deal with our relationship with God. The next four deal with our relationship with each other.

What is mercy?  Mercy is love in action.  It's more than just an attitude.  It's doing something.  The Bible says God is a merciful God.  Notice Psalm 145:8 "God is kind and merciful, slow to get angry and full of love."  If you want to be like God, you have to learn to be merciful.

God is saying if you want love, you must give love.  If you're going to criticize others, they will criticize you. If you want to be happy, you must treat people right.

What is the right way to treat people?  Be merciful.

1.  If I'm merciful, I will be patient with those who are peculiar.

I Thes. 5:14 "...Encourage the timid, help the weak, and be patient with everyone."  Are you patient with everyone?  I'm not. The Bible says if I'm merciful, I'll be patient with those who are peculiar. How can you be patient with those who are peculiar?  You learn their background.  When you understand where a person comes from, you stop saying, "Look how far they've got to go, " and start saying, "Look how far they've come!"  That makes you a little more patient.

2.  If I'm a merciful person, I'll forgive those who have fallen.

When people make mistakes, do you rub it in?  Or do you rub it out?  When people let you down, do you hold it over their head for the rest of their life, never let them off the hook?  That's not mercy.

Colossians 3:13 "Be gentle and ready to forgive, never hold grudges.  Remember the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others."  It's interesting about forgiveness that when you're called to receive it, it feels so right; when you're called to give it, it feels so wrong.  I don't want to forgive people, I want justice!

Like the lady who had her picture taken at a photographer's. She brought it back and said, "It doesn't do me justice!" He said, "You don't need justice, you need mercy!"

If I'm patient, I will be forgiving to the fallen.

3.  If I'm a merciful person, I will help those who are hurting.

Proverbs 3:27 "Wherever you possibly can, do good to those who need it."  Mercy is practical assistance.  There are people all around you who are hurting.  When you feel sorry for those people, that's not being like Christ.  When you do something about it, that's being like Christ.

John Wesley's motto:  "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can."  Help those who are hurting.

Jesus is saying, "Happy are those who care enough to get involved."

4.  If I'm Merciful, I'll do good to my enemies.

Luke 6:33, 35-36.  "If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you!  Even sinners do that!  But love your enemies, do good to them, then your reward will be great.  Be merciful, just as your Father is!"

If you want to be like God, be merciful.  Do good to those who do evil to you.  Unfortunately, that's exactly the opposite of what society says.  Society wants you to get even, hurt those who hurt you.

God says, "No, that's a reactor.  Be an actor not a reactor.  You not only forgive that person, but be nice to the guy."  That's what Jesus would do.  Oh that's so hard to do!

The best way to eliminate an enemy is to turn him into a friend.  Smother him with kindness.  He won't know how to handle it because the world does not respond that way.  All of a sudden, you're in control of the situation.  You're on the offense, not the defense.  You're acting, not reacting.

Mercy is love in action.  It's the way God treats people.  God is kind, merciful, slow to anger.

Here are three motivations why you should be merciful this week:

1.  Because God has shown us mercy.
2.  Because we're going to need more mercy in the future.
3.  Because it makes us happy!

Proverbs 11:17 "The merciful man does good for his own soul."  In other words, as Ben Franklin said, "When you're good to other people, you are best to yourself."

Have a wonderful, and merciful, week!