"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." Matthew 5:7 (CSB)
We left off yesterday with this very important question
dealing with being merciful. How do I
apply this principle in my everyday life? How do I practically demonstrate this
action word, this mercy?
Well, here are some marks of mercy. Four ways to evaluate
yourself and see how merciful you really are.
1. If I am merciful, I’ll be patient with the unique.
Now, that’s a nice way to say, be helpful even to oddballs. Rick Warren says, "I believe into every
life a few weirdoes must fall."
You can evaluate
yourself on how merciful you are by asking: "How do I treat those who are
different? Those who are a little odd?" You see mercy produces tolerance.
1 Thess. 5:14 says, "...encourage the timid, help the weak, and be patient
with everyone."
Now, what if their
uniqueness is not odd but offensive? How can you be patient with the obnoxious?
Well, I think the best
way is to understand that a lot of people who are out of step are really in a
lot of pain. We need to stop focusing so much on their external behavior and
look more closely at their internal hurt. Because usually behind every peculiar
action there is a need for attention, caused by loneliness, hurt, or
depression.
Merciful people are
accepting people. Rom. 15:7- "accept one another in the Lord, as Christ
has accepted you." They’re not quick to criticize or to judge; they
realize that hurtful people are hurting people.
So, be patient with the
unique.
2. If I am merciful, I’ll forgive those who have fallen. Ask
yourself this question: “When someone makes a mistake, do I rub it in, or rub
it out?” Col. 3:13- "bearing with one another, and forgiving one another,
if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you
also must do."
It’s an interesting
thing about forgiveness that when you are called to receive it, it is so easy
and feels so right. But when you’re called to give it, it is so hard and feels
so wrong. When we are sinned against it’s not natural for us to show mercy, we
want justice.
Now, sometimes the
question becomes, “How many times do you show mercy?” How many times do you
forgive those who have hurt you? That’s exactly the question Peter asked in
Matthew 18. It is interesting that Jesus has just finished talking about how to
handle personal conflict. So, after this discussion, Peter apparently
understands what he is to do, he just wants to know how many times he has to do
it!
You know, "Okay,
Lord, I’ve got to work this out with the one who has done me wrong, but after
he wrongs me, say, 7 times, I don’t have to forgive them do I? Time for the eye
for an eye, tooth for a tooth, right?"
The Rabbi’s taught that
you were to forgive 3 times and on the 4th there was no forgiveness. So Peter
must have thought to himself as really big-hearted, volunteering to forgive 7 times.
But Jesus says,
"No, not seven times... but seventy times seven!"
And the reason that
blows Peter away is that Jesus is not putting a quantity on the times a person
should forgive. He uses numbers that the disciples understood as infinite. Peter
clearly understands that a merciful person does not limit the times he
forgives.
So a merciful person is
one who can forgive the fallen. And that doesn’t just apply to those who have
sinned against you but to those who have made mistakes that you just cannot
understand. Merciful people don’t point a finger - they lend a helping hand.
Wow, that’s a lot to take in, and we have two more ways to
evaluate ourselves. We will get to those tomorrow. So, today watch yourself, see if you a merciful person in
these two categories. Watch to see if we are truly patient with the peculiar,
forgiving of the fallen. What steps do we need to take to get these into our
lives?
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