Blessed Are the Merciful_ Beatitudes (5)
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August 11, 2019 |
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 Senior Pastor Rev. Jaerock Lee
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."Matt. 5:7
Jean Valjean of Les Misérables came to live a new life through true love, mercy, and forgiveness. We can move the hearts of others and lead them to change when we forgive others with mercy. Now, what specifically is mercy as in one of the Beatitudes?
1. The Merciful
Mercy is to forgive from the heart, pray for, and give advice with love to those who sin against you or who give you a hard time.
It is similar to goodness as in one of the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5, but it is deeper than that.
Goodness is to be free of evil and to seek complete goodness. It is the heart of Jesus who does not quarrel or cry out and who does not break a bruised reed or put out a smoldering wick (Matt. 12:19-20).
You don't punish them just because they did something evil, but you bear with them so that they can be saved. Even if they commit sins, you try your best to let them realize their sins by the Holy Spirit and to be changed by the truth. You wait for them and pray for them until the end.
Even if others do evil things to you without a reason, you understand, forgive, and lead them to the right way with the heart of Jesus. That is mercy. You don't try to serve your interest in your standpoint but you put yourself in others' shoes, and this is how you can show mercy to others.
In John 8 is the event in which Jesus forgave the woman who had committed adultery. In order to test Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees brought the woman who was caught in the act of adultery. They asked Him, "Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?"
What did Jesus do? He stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. He wrote down the names of the common sins that the people gathered there committed. Then, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
The Jews left one by one and He was left alone with the woman. To this woman He said, "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more." It must have been an unforgettable event for this woman, and she probably wouldn't have committed the same sin again for the rest of her life.
2. Various Forms of Mercy
1) Endless Forgiveness
Those who accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior have already received great mercy of God. They were destined to fall into hell and suffer forever due to their sins, but by believing in Jesus Christ who shed His precious blood to save the sinners, they were forgiven without having to pay any price and brought to heaven from hell.
Even today, God the Father is waiting for numerous souls to come out to the way of salvation. Even if they are breaking God's heart so much, He accepts them only if they wholeheartedly repent and come to Him. He forgives all their sins and does not remember them (Psa. 103:12; Isa. 1:18).
Jesus tells us to forgive not only seven times but seventy times seven (Matt. 18:22). Number 7 is the perfect number, and seventy times seven means perfect and limitless forgiveness. And how evil is it if we can't forgive one small mistake of other people and if we pass judgment and condemnation on them after we've been forgiven of all our sins without a price while we were destined to face death?
Even if we suffer a great loss because of others, we should be able to forgive, understand, and accept them, so that we can broaden our heart. If we have mercy, we will never hate or have hard-feelings against anyone. Even if others are doing something unlawful in the sight of God, we should be able to give advice with love rather than punish them.
Even if the leaders do something wrong to their people, the workers should be able to still follow their leaders with humbleness and pray for them with love (1 Pet. 2:18). When subordinates do something wrong to their leaders, the leaders shouldn't just leave it for the sake of peace but help them understand the truth correctly. This is an act of mercy.
No matter what kind of situation we face, we should understand the standpoint of others and pray for them and advise them with love with which we can give our lives.
2) Mercy of Punishment with Love
Mercy of punishment is not carried out with hatred or condemnation. It originates from love. We receive punishments because we're beloved children of God. God let us turn from sins and practice the truth by punishments (Heb. 12:6-8).
Prov. 13:24 says, "He who withholds his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently." However, punishment without love is not a merciful act. Such punishments come from hatred, and thus they cannot change the one who is punished. Even if we must punish someone, we have to do it out of love thinking from their viewpoint. This is the mercy of punishment that God desires.
The Bible explains in detail how we should advise our brothers in faith when they commit sins (Matt. 18:15-17). First, we have to advise them in person with love. If he doesn't listen, we should inform the leader of his group in the church. If he still doesn't listen, we have to inform the church so that he can be saved. If he doesn't listen to the church, we should consider him as an unbeliever.
3) Mercy in Charitable Work
God's children are in obligation to show mercy of helping those who are in need. When brothers in faith are suffering due to poverty, it is not mercy if we don't help them with actual action but just feel sorry for them. The mercy in charitable work is to actually share what we have when the brothers are in need (James 2:15-16).
We have to remember one thing when helping others. It is that we should not help those who are in hardships due to God's punishment for their sins. It is to cause hardships on ourselves. Also, if healthy people are just lazy and do not work, it is not right to help them either.
It's the same with those who habitually ask for help, even if they can help themselves. If we help such people, it is to make them more incapable and lazier. Therefore, we shouldn't just help all those in need indiscriminately but have proper discernment, so that we won't have to face any problems.
Of course, we should also help the unbelievers as well. We must never turn our face away from or despise anyone. We must consider others better than ourselves and treat them with a warm heart. Some people help others just because of some pressure from others, but we know we have to help others with sincere love for them. That is true mercy and God blesses such people.
3. Blessing for the Merciful
Matt. 5:7 says, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."
If we show mercy even to those who cause damage to us or give us a hard time, God will show us mercy when we are in a hardship or when we make a mistake and cause damage to others.
The Lord's Prayer says, "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" (Matt. 6:12).
Tabitha in Acts 9 was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did. She died of sickness helping others without caring for her own body, but those who received help from her asked Peter to pray for her, and she was brought back to life. Her life was extended by God's mercy.
When we show mercy to those who are sick and in need, God will give us the blessing of wealth and health. If we show mercy to others, God will forgive us of our iniquities, fill our needs, and turn our weaknesses into health. This is the blessing we receive when we receive God's mercy.
Dear brothers and sisters, may you provide many people with comfort and life through your beautiful aroma of mercy and lead an abundant life by God's blessing, I pray this in the name of the Lord.
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