Blessed Are The Merciful
Matthew 5:7
March 5, 1995
by J. David Hoke
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." (Matthew 5:7
NASB)
We live in a world where it's so easy to become callused and indifferent. We are
bombarded daily with news of tragedies, violent acts, and suffering people. Living sanely
in such a world often necessitates developing a certain amount of thick skin.
Unfortunately, a thick skin and a hard heart are often confused with one another. Instead
of developing a thick skin, many develop a hard heart. As a result you can find hard,
unforgiving people everywhere in our society. Unfortunately, their hardness has made them
cynical and merciless.
Jesus said, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." He
stands against the harshness of our society. In fact, God says in Ephesians 4:32, "Be
kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave
you." Let me ask you the obvious question. Do you find it difficult to follow
such a command? Sometimes it's tough. It's so easy to get a hard heart. But Jesus knew the
value of mercy. It brings great blessing to all.
Shakespeare echoed this thought when he had Portia say,
The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
----- Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, act 4, scene 1
Picture yourself at a shopping center watching an elderly woman struggling with her
packages. What you are most likely to see is a steady stream of people passing her by, all
of whom could help her. They don't. Many are even irritated with her slowness. "Get a
move on, Grandma," could be the response of some. Finally you might see a
tender-hearted person stop and take the time to help her. Perhaps the most common place
where hard hearts excel is the highway. It's seems that along with our driver's license we
have given ourselves a license to be belligerent. We think we have a right to be angry at
the other idiots on the road. In the Northeast, some pride themselves in being tough,
hard. This is the age of Rambo and others of his breed. It's an easy trap to fall into.
But we need a little more tenderness and mercy in our society today.
Now, if we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit that sometimes other people
really get under our skin. We don't want them to, but we do not seem to be able to do
anything about it. They aggravate us, offend us, and we become hard toward them. We know
we should not feel this way, but we do. We know that we ought to forgive them, but we just
want to nuke them instead. Our hearts have become hard.
The problem is that we are the losers in this scenario. If we do not show mercy, no mercy will be shown to us. Gamaliel, the famous rabbi, is quoted in the Talmud as saying, "Whenever thou hast mercy, God will have mercy on thee." What he said is true. Jesus said, "For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." (Matthew 6:14-15 NASB) James 2:13 reads, "For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment." When we show no mercy, we are the losers in terms of God's mercy.
At our rare times of introspection, we do desire to be more merciful and forgiving, but
we seem to have unlearned those emotions. How can we relearn them? What are some practical
steps we can take to develop a little more tenderness? How can we develop a merciful
spirit? How can we be, as the Scripture exhorts us, more tender-hearted, kind, and
forgiving?
Perspective
Sometimes we are too busy for people to be very important. We are caught up with our
goals, our projects. We see ourselves as busy people, always behind, working hard to get
things done. In the hustle of busy lives it is easy to see people as either road blocks or
stepping stones. It's too often easy to evaluate them in terms of whether they fit into our
plans or not. It is exceedingly difficult to see people as individually important and
valuable to God. It's easier to neatly categorize them by whatever stereotypes are
convenient for us. Some are winners, others are losers. Some are ordinary, and some are
extraordinary. But the truth is that God loves every one of them. Even those we think are
losers are important to God. God loves the prisoner, the homosexual, the bag lady, and the
bag boy just as much as He loves the medical students, and the theological students, the
teachers, and the stock-brokers.
All people are special in God's eyes. The waitress who serves your dinner, the
check-out girl in the supermarket, the parking lot attendant at the garage, and the
service station attendant at the gas pump are all important to God. Think about that the
next time you see them. Even the hothead who is shaking his or her fist at you on the road
is important to God. So is the person who has offended you, or hurt you, or made you
angry.
Have you ever stood in a crowd of people at an airport terminal or train station? I'm
sure you have. Around you are a conglomeration of races and ethnic cultures, a motley crew
of well-dressed and poorly dressed, clean and grungy, old and young, loud and quiet. Some
you would sit next to on the plane or train, others you want to stay away from. Do you
realize that each one of these people has a life, goals, dreams, a family. Each one is a
special person to God. Each one is as important as I am or you are. We need to pray,
"God, let me see them through your eyes." Seeing as God sees can be a giant step
toward a merciful, tender-hearted, and forgiving attitude.
Sensitivity
Seeing with God's eyes is an important step in the right direction. We must have the
right perspective. Another equally important step is to learn how to feel as others feel -
to develop real sensitivity. If we are to be merciful, forgiving people, we must learn how
to empathize with others. We must climb into their situation and learn to feel as they
feel. We must walk a mile in their shoes.
It is so easy to stand off from someone else and pass judgment concerning their
situation - so easy to tell someone else what they need to do, especially when you haven't
lived through their situation yourself. There is something about going through the hard
time for yourself, however, that gives you a different perspective. When you have felt the
pain, when you have suffered the loss, when you have endured the crushing blow, it is
altogether different. Now, all of us cannot experience everything life deals out. But we
can make an honest attempt to consider what it would be like if we were in that situation.
How do you suppose it feels to be handicapped, unable to walk or stand, unable to drive
or take care of yourself? How do you suppose it feels to be unemployed, with bills you
cannot pay, and children you cannot feed? How do you suppose it feels to be a minority,
living in a community where you are different? How does it feel to be an ethnic person, in
a society in which you find it difficult to communicate in the native language? How would
it feel to be divorced, struggling through the pain of having the one you love reject you?
How would it feel to be widowed, or to lose a child, or a parent? How do you suppose it
would feel to have cancer, or Alzheimer's disease, or AIDS?
Even on a more common scale, how do you think it would feel to be really depressed, and
full of despair, and not even know why? How would it feel to feel all alone and unloved?
How would it feel to be full of doubt and fear?
The point is that we need to climb into someone else's situation, at least mentally,
and walk a mile or two in their shoes. Once we do, we might find it easier to show some
tender-hearted love and genuine forgiveness. When we feel as they feel, we might
understand why they act and react as they do. Understanding, that is all people really
need.
Richard Selzer in his book Mortal Lessons writes these moving lines,
"I stand by the bed where the young woman lies, her face post-operative, her mouth
twisted in palsy, clownish. A tiny twig of the facial nerve, the one to the muscles of her
mouth, has been severed. The surgeon had followed with religious fervor the curve of her
flesh; I promise you that. Nevertheless, to remove the tumor in her cheek, I had to cut
the little nerve. Her young husband is in the room. He stands on the opposite side of the
bed, and altogether they seem to dwell in the evening lamplight, isolated from me,
private. Who are they, I ask myself, he and this wrymouth I have made, who gaze at and
touch each other so generously, greedily? The young woman speaks. 'Will my mouth always be
like this?' She asks. 'Yes,' I say, 'it will. It is because the nerve was cut.' She nods
and is silent. But the young man smiles. 'I like it,' he says. 'It is kind of cute.' All
at once I know who he is. I understand, and lower my gaze. One is not bold in an encounter
with a god. Unmindful, he bends to kiss her crooked mouth, and I am so close, I can see
how he twists his own lips to accommodate to hers, to show her that their kiss still
works." Understanding and tender love - there is no substitute. This is the stuff of
real mercy.
Response
We must have perspective, sensitivity and there must also be a response. What we are
talking about is seeing as God sees others, feeling as others feel, and responding by
doing something about it - simply loving as Christ loves us. That is what Christ did for
us. That is what we should do for others.
In the play, "My Fair Lady," Eliza is being courted by Freddy, who writes to
her daily of his love for her. Eliza's response to his notes is to cry out in frustration;
"Words! Words! I'm so sick of words! Don't talk of stars burning above, if you're in
love, show me! Don't talk of love lasting through time. Make me no undying vow, show me
now!"
Again the passage in Ephesians exhorts us to "Be kind to one another,
tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." In
other words, we are to treat others as Christ has treated us. How has Christ treated us?
Well, He has always treated us with kindness, with tenderness, with mercy, and with
forgiveness. Titus 3:5 reads, "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we
have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and
renewing by the Holy Spirit." Ephesians 2:4-5 reads, "But God,
being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were
dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been
saved." He has always had time for us. He has always listened to us. His
forgiveness was made possible because of His love. If we would learn to show mercy, it
will be because we learn to love as Christ loves.
Just think of what would happen if we were to do this. I believe that the results would
be extraordinary. People would be wondering what happened to us. Our spouses and children
would be overjoyed. The superficial relationships we have would be deepened. Our churches
would be filled as people discover that church is a place where they can find love and
forgiveness, genuine acceptance.
Mercy is meeting people's needs. It is not simply a warm feeling toward someone. Mercy
is something we do. Jesus said, "Be merciful, just as your Father
is merciful." (Luke 6:36)
There is, of course, some risk in living this way. Some are afraid that they will be
hurt if they truly love others. C.S. Lewis addressed this fear well when he said: "To
love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will be certainly wrung and
possible be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your
heart to no one. Not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little
luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your
selfishness. But in that casket - safe, dark, motionless, airless - it will change. It
will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The only place
outside heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of love . . . is
hell." Yes, there is a danger in loving, but there is a greater danger in not loving.
The danger is that your heart grows hard and unforgiving. You become bitter and sour of
spirit. If you want to be able to break the shell of hardness which grows around your
heart, you must choose to love others. If you do not, you will never be able to forgive
others. You will never be able to show mercy.
May we become those whose lives are characterized by showing mercy, because we need
mercy, because others need mercy, and because Jesus was the embodiment of mercy. Remember,
as He hung there on the Cross, He said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not
know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34) We need to be merciful because we
need to be like Jesus.
Copyright (C) 1995 J. David Hoke. This data file is the sole property of
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