“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” (Matthew 5:7, NASB)

Mercy:

“a blessing that is an act of divine favor of compassion; the withholding of the punishment or judgment our sins deserve.”

 

(from The NLT Study Bible Dictionary)

At the heart of mercy is forgiveness. It is often confused with grace, and the two are very much interwoven. Grace is a gift we don’t deserve, while mercy is not getting the punishment or judgment we did deserve.

The way we most often become merciful people is when we truly recognize the magnitude of the mercy we ourselves have received. It could be said that receiving mercy helps to mold us into being people of mercy.

Mercy seeks to alleviate suffering and moves us to be a people of compassion. No better example of this than in a story told by Jesus Himself in Luke 10.

Jesus, in talking with a religious expert, shares a parable of a Jewish man beaten and robbed while traveling. Stripped of his clothes and wounded, he is left on the side of the road, half dead.

A priest, traveling the same road, crosses to the other side to pass by the man. A Levite also does the same when he sees the man.

But a third man, a Samaritan, took pity on this man. He went to him, bandaged his wounds using oil and wine, and put him on his donkey. He brought him to an inn, where he continued to take care of him. When having to resume his own travels, he leaves money and asks the innkeeper to look after him.

Jews and Samaritans hated each other. No Jew would ever have expected to receive help from a Samaritan; and probably no Samaritan ever thought he would help a Jew who was wounded. The feelings were mutual.

Yet upon finishing His story, Jesus asks a question of the religious expert:

“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” (Luke 10:36, NASB)

The answer is interesting as he replied, “The one who showed him mercy” (verse 37).

Mercy, in the Greek, means “gracious compassion or kindness for someone in need. Mercy is different from kindness; while kindness can be to anyone, mercy is for those in need.” (New Testament Lexical Aids, The Key Word Bible)

Mercy is extended to anyone in need. It is not confined nor determined by race, nationality, or family.

Mercy changes us. Once the recipient of mercy, may we impart mercy to those around us. May we not forget the mercy given us.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)”  (Ephesians 2:4-5, NASB)

May this become more than a story to us.
May we be merciful people
because of the mercy once given to us.

In her post, Bold Prayers: Believing God is Who He Says He Is, Debbie Wilson points us to the powerful importance of knowing God and His character. ”When we come to Him in prayer, we must believe that He is all that He says He is—especially in the face of our current need.” As we bring our current need before Him, we will remember how He has responded in the past. Our history with God will keep us grounded in His Word, His works, and in Him.

Come, sit a spell. Bring your coffee, your posts, and your thoughts. If you link up, kindly visit those who have drawn up a seat around you.

 ** This is an edited post which first appeared HERE.
Image by Mila Okta Safitri from Pixabay