BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL

THE MERCIFUL RECEIVE MERCY

MATTHEW 5.7

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy."

Mercy ministers to misery.

The Good Samaritan "showed mercy" to the man who was beaten and robbed and left on the side of the road.

We know what it feels like to be beaten, robbed, and left to die. The Sermon on the Mount assures us of the mercy of God being extended to the poor in spirit, to our spiritual poverty, to our personal inadequacy and failure, our misery, guilt, shame, pain, depression, discouragement, etc. etc. etc.

We know failure and its consequences.

We know we need mercy.

We know we need help.

The first Beatitude assures us that God will draw from His infiinte resources in Heaven to rebuild, renew, and restore us to the person He desires and designs us to be. The kingdom of Heaven is near, with all the King's power, wisdom, truth, and grace to save, deliver and restore to His image with love, joy, and peace with Him in His glory for the coming ages of eternity.

When we call out to God, He responds with compassion and mercy. Paul cried out, "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me....?"

God's answer: "Jesus Christ, our Lord."

Jesus Christ will come to us in our poverty and wretchedness. He will set us free from the law of sin and death by the power of the law of the Spirit of Life.

But, we are not to be just recipients of mercy and grace

We are to be ministers of mercy to the poor, wretched, miserable, needy all around us.

Mercy in the Old Testament is directed to the poor and needy, to the orphans and widows, to those who cannot help themselves.

Like the man robbed, beaten, and left to die.

Like the burdened and weary, the troubled and helpless.

Like the sheep without a shepherd.

To those who have received mercy, Jesus says, "Lift up your eyes. Look at people. See their suffering? Care about them! Speak to them. Do something for them."

Jesus means it.

We have received mercy. We must now be merciful to others.

Only if we extend mercy to others will we continue to receive mercy.

Selfishness presumes God is here to make us happy so we can indulge in our personal pleasures with disregard for others.

The Pharisee and Levite were so busy with their own importance that they were willing to walk right past a dying man. He was probably on drugs, anyway, don't you think?

Ignorant, dirty; maybe dangerous?

No! Poor and needy!

How can Pharisees and Levites, "spiritual leaders," not be moved to do something to help a man?

Too busy with their own affairs!

When we are unmerciful, we are cut off from mercy.

Without mercy, we fall back into spiritual poverty and become more wretched and miserable than ever.

Poor, needy, weak, miserable, beaten, robbed, dying people are everywhere.

Do something. Help someone.