Blessed are the merciful

We are moving right along in the Beatitudes, and we come to one that is really hard for a lot of us. Matthew 5:7 says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” The Greek definition for the word “merciful” is basically having compassion on others. This definition of compassion covers a lot of area in our relationship with others. Christ had compassion on many people, on many occasions, when he was going from town to town proclaiming the good news of the kingdom. In Matthew 9:36 it says, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” On another occasion in Matthew 14:14, Jesus had compassion on the crowd and healed their sick. Still on another occasion, Jesus had compassion on the crowd and fed the four thousand in Mark chapter 8.

So, Jesus gives us several examples of how to be compassionate to others, and Paul continues this pattern of teaching in his epistles where he adds another facet of compassion, which is to be forgiving of others. Paul says in Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

Forgiveness, as we mentioned before, is hard for a lot of us to do when we feel we have been persecuted or done wrong in some way. Forgiveness is brought up in the Lord’s Prayer which is in the Sermon on the Mount in the chapter following the Beatitudes. Jesus is teaching his disciples to pray in Matthew 6:12, which we call the Lord’s Prayer, and it teaches us to forgive others as we are forgiven by the Lord.

The word “forgive” in this chapter means to let go or disregard when someone else persecutes or does us wrong. This again is so hard to do because we are human and feel we need justice. We are taught to be merciful and let God handle the justice in all situations and if we do so, we will be shown mercy on the day of Judgment! Let the reader think about this because in that day, the seven words we want to hear most are, “well done thou good and faithful servant!”

If you have a question about God’s Word, God Himself, or of a Christian spiritual nature, please send it to me at collegehillchurchofchrist@yahoo.com and I will do my best, using scripture, to get you an answer.

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