Merciful hearts

Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Matthew 5:7 (NIV)

Remember when you were a child and you broke something of one of your parents or grandparents? I can remember a time when I was young and I broke a porcelain doll of my grandmothers. It was all an accident, but I felt so scared as to what she would do. It was the worst feeling in the world. It all turned out fine and my grandmother forgave me, but until I heard those words, “I forgive you.” I was in the greatest and lowest despair feeling as though my life was over. On the other hand I was not always and still am not always the most forgiving right off the bat when someone breaks something of mine or does me wrong, but I would have to say that it depends on who it is that does the act against me and is something that I struggle against when looking at these words of Jesus. Jesus was merciful to anyone who asked for His mercy, but we are often like the servant described in the Matthew 18:21-35. We receive the full glory and forgiveness of God, but when it comes to others we offer nothing of the sort.

Christ challenges us to lead with mercy in all situations and with all people and not to only offer it to the select few. Christ was merciful to all that he met and he offered an alternative to what was leading the lives of others. In our hearts we can receive full forgiveness and in the same way we need to let others walk in that same forgiveness. This doesn’t mean that you become a doormat, Jesus was not one to let others walk all over Him, but what it means is that when acting in mercy to offer an alternative, to turn the prism and allow them to see things in a different light. What is more honorable to care so fully that your name is remembered for all that were helped by you or to be known as someone that accrued great wealth, but never really being known by anyone. Who is truly the wealthy one?

“You're blessed when you care.
At the moment of being ‘carefull,’
you find yourselves cared for.”
Matthew 5:7 (The Message)