Blessed are the Merciful
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
The mercy of God in Jesus Christ is an amazing thing. For most of my life, the mercy of God was just this fact of life that I did not think much about. Later in life, when I became more serious about the mercy I claimed and the blood that was shed to give it, I went too far to the other extreme. I began to place limits on God’s mercy in my mind as I esteemed many Christians to be false because of the carelessness wherewith many wore the name and blood of Jesus.
The fact that I did not see the grace of God that was given to me—grace that made me zealous when many Christians are not—is a shame to me now. Pride blinded me, and as is the case with pride, I did not know that I was blind. I’m certain that I am still blind in many ways.
Now, having been on both ends of the isle so to speak, I understand both extremes and I have compassion for both extremes. Yet, I know that the chastisement of God is warranted for both extremes, and if He deals with us as sons, we will receive such chastening of the Lord.
If we take the mercy of God for granted, then something is amiss.
We can take the mercy of God for granted by wearing the blood of the Son of God carelessly, without regard as one who just sees His mercy as a fact of life, but we don’t do our upmost to honor that mercy by living a life that serves the One we call Lord.
We can also take the mercy of God for grated by wearing the blood of the Son of God while we ourselves place limits on the mercy of God for others as we esteem them to be lesser Christians in some way. Or worse yet, not Christians at all.
Both extremes are amiss because we, having received the mercy of God, fail to show that mercy to others and fail to fully reverence the cost that was paid for us.
Having been so great a fool as myself, I have a great appreciation for the mercy of God and for the blood of the Son that was shed for people like me.
I know that God is in control of all things, and I have had to learn many things pertaining to Christianity the hard way. This is blessing because I can relate, and hopefully, find an escape from the blindness of pride so that I can be faithful to the blood of the Son that I wear as I do what I can to help others straighten out their garments also.
It is possible to wear the blood of the Son of God in a disrespectful manner, and it aught not be so. My example is one of extremes, but there is a middle ground too. There are small ways we can be tempted within our daily lives to take the mercy of God for granted.
We must submit ourselves to the one we call Lord, or work towards that goal earnestly. If we do so, we will see for ourselves how amazing His mercy is as we strive and fail, grow, and learn to be faithful servants.
We will not be able to resist a love for His mercy and a desire to show that same mercy to others. His mercy will be a sincere part of our character that grows over time, and an aspect of His nature that we love oh so much because it is absolutely precious.
It is not burdensome to love mercy and to show mercy. It is peace of mind. It is restored relationships. It is closeness with the Creator whose creation is full of mercy.
We serve an exceedingly merciful God, and who can know the limits or the depths and richness of His mercy?
Yet, I do know that it is possible to take this mercy for granted, so let us consider. God is also fearful. He is a consuming fire that refines and destroys. Let us be refined as He burns off the callousness of our heart that lacks mercy. He will do so for all who belong to Him. I trust in this whole heartedly, because He did so for me.
This article is part of a series that considers the Parables of Jesus. Right now, we are looking at the statements Jesus made during His Sermon on the Mount, to which He referenced in His Parable of the Building on Rock and Sand.
