I think today’s Beatitude may be one that many of us think we are living out, but if we were truly honest, we would realize we have a ways to go to fulfill it. In Matthew 5:7 we read, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” The version The Message states it this way: “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.”
I think most of us believe we care about others, but maybe we need to analyze whether or not we really care like Jesus demonstrated for us. We read in Ephesians 5:1-2 (The Message), “Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.”
These verses tell us that just like children imitate their parents, we should imitate Christ. His great love for us led Him to sacrifice himself so we might live. Our love for others should be the same kind – a love which goes beyond affection to self-sacrificing service. In other words, we need to show true mercy.
To have mercy for someone is to go the extra mile for him or her. It’s not caring for them because you know you will get something in return. And it’s not just having pity for someone. I believe we can have pity for someone but not really care about them. Pity doesn’t require any action…mercy does.
One definition of mercy is “compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.” In other words, if you have someone in your life who you really do have reason to punish for what they have done to you, but you show them compassion or forgiveness, that is being merciful. Jesus could have denied mercy to those who crucified Him, but He forgave them and asked God to forgive them. That mercy filtered down to us, as we were the reason He hung on that cross.
This is where showing mercy can become really difficult. Since we are to imitate Christ, we are to also show mercy and concern for those who we could just as easily hurt…maybe because they hurt us first. It isn’t easy though to show mercy to someone who has seriously wronged us, is it? Our first thought is usually revenge, but God tells us to be merciful. If we are going to look like our Jesus, we need to be willing to show mercy by forgiving the person who has wronged us…even though that tends to go against the grain. Now it may be necessary for there to be some sort of punishment or restitution from the person who wronged us, but we can still forgive them.
Preventing suffering is another means of showing mercy. When we donate to the Red Cross, our church or other charitable organizations, we are showing mercy. When we hand a bottle of cold water to someone who needs it, we are showing mercy. Any way we can help…fits the description. The best way to show mercy is to act. Even the words “I forgive you” requires action on our part…we really must forgive and not store it up for later use.
There are other mental things we need to watch out for if we truly want to show mercy. The first is not to feel like we’re somehow the better person. Any “holier than thou” reaction negates the good done by our actions.
Secondly, we need to avoid announcing our good deeds. Jesus called out the Pharisees for this, and the same holds true for us. Telling about how we’ve been feeding, clothing or otherwise helping those in need makes us look good in the eyes of others. If that is our goal, it may be the only reward we receive.
Unfortunately, mercy is only easy if the other person is doing it. When it comes down to you and me, it gets a lot harder. But it can be done, as it was done for us.
We need to remind ourselves from time to time that the Beatitudes represent signs of those who are truly Christ’s disciples. So, if we genuinely want to be a devoted follower of His, we need to be willing to show mercy. Only then will we be care-full.
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