BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL...FOR THEY SHALL

I am sure that you have all heard the saying, "that what goes around, comes around"...and we're not talking about a children's top here. We are speaking of JUSTICE...that in life, both here and in the one to come, you will receive what is your just due.

But fortunately in His Sermon on the Mount, when Christ shared the fifth Beatitude, He let us in on God's true nature and a vital foundation for those of us who profess to know Jesus...OUR GOD IS A GOD OF MERCY!!!

Now to many of us, this comes as no surprise...in fact, we are banking on it! After all, God is a God of Love and Mercy, so how could a loving God do anything else but show His love and mercy to His Creation.  But time and time again during the ministry of Jesus, he spoke of the promise that God is merciful to us when we are likewise merciful to others.

He says it best in this Beatitude, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." But how do we "obtain" mercy? Asking for mercy is a good first step, but showing and demonstrating mercy is what Jesus requires.

When anyone of us stops and looks at the rebellious nature that we have demonstrated to God, it is any wonder at all that He would demonstrate His love to us through His unmerited grace and unending forgiveness...that He would truly bestow mercy on us! And the fact that we, then, would stand in judgment of another and not offer mercy is truly ludicrous...and that must truly raise the ire of our Heavenly Father.

In fact, I wonder how often God may hold back His mercy on us because we have not shown mercy to another. For if we fail to show mercy, then we really don't understand God and our relationship with Him at all! He has set us apart as His children to be holy and righteous; but not to hold others to some attainable righteousness that we have set and thus compel them to obtain...He sets the bar and when others fail, He requires us to show the mercy that we have been shown.

For us as Christians, mercy is a spirit-led ability to show practical, compassionate and cheerful love to those who may be suffering...and in so doing, find the joy and happiness of a heart that has been shown mercy from our loving God and a forgiveness that is always ready to be displayed to those who may have done us wrong.

So, do as God has done for you...don't meter out justice when mercy is required...required not by you, but by Him who has shown His mercy to you and has gifted you in love through His abundant grace.

Do this and as Jesus promised from that gathering on the hill, YOU will be BLESSED!!!!

Mercifully showing the Love of my Lord that I may be blessed,

WPQ