Matthew 5:7
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Merciful: compassionate, love in motion
Those who do not forgive will themselves not be forgiven. In that same rule, they who do not show mercy, will themselves be shown no mercy.
If we want to reach others for Christ, we need more than mere words, we need to be actively living Christ-filled lives, that our words may mirror our hearts. Had God not loved us so much, He would never have sent His Son to be our Savior in such a horrendous way as The Way of The Cross.
But God shows us mercy as we come to the cross and look upon His Only Begotten Son, seeing a Savior Who died obediently for us. He surrendered to God's will that God's compassion might be poured out upon each one who gazes upon the cross and sees The Lord Jesus Christ. With this same compassion we are to have The Love of God bubbling up within us, pouring out into someone else's life, that they, too, might come to the cross and see Jesus.
The merciful are just. The law applies to all, therefore, mercy is applies to all. The Law of God reveals sin, but the mercy of God washes away sin when we come to the cross and believe that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Paul writes that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" [Romans 3:23]. And again in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." That's mercy.
Death is the judgment against sin. Mercy is the reward on the repentant sinner.
Are we showing this same mercy to one another? Are we showing compassion to the enemies of the cross? For there was a time before we came to the knowledge of saving grace when we were enemies of the cross and someone had mercy on us. How we treat one another is indicative of the level of mercy that has infiltrated our hearts.
In their time the disciples of Christ turned the world upside-down, by preaching a gospel of repentance and salvation through Christ Jesus, Who had died on the cross, yet rose from the dead and walked out of the grave. And Who extends His mercy to all who will receive it. Are we turning our world upside-down by sharing this same Jesus with all we meet?
We live in a topsy-turvy world, where 'evil is good, and good is evil' [Isaiah 5:20-24; Romans 1:26,27]. In fact, it's the law of the land here. But it is not God's law. In fact, it is completely and irreverently against God's Law. For in God's Law is God's Mercy. We need to be out and "about The Father's business", speaking and doing God's Mercy message of repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ with a heart that is so full of His Love we cannot but help ourselves to speak of such Grace.
Blessed are the merciful, for we shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the compassionate, for they shall be shown compassion.
