“Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy” Matthew 5:7. The Greek word that is used here is ELEEMON which means “compassionate”. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:4 that God “is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us”. And in Titus 3:5 “according to His mercy He saved us”; then Peter tells us in his first epistle, 1:3, that God “according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Having received such mercy we are obligated to show mercy; in Matthew 18:21-35 Jesus talks about kingdom conduct speaking of a servant that because of mercy (or compassion) was forgiven a massive debt by the king, but in turn refused to show mercy and to forgive a fellow servant a miniscule debt. That servant was called a wicked servant and was delivered “to the tortures…” then Jesus applies the teaching to those who refuse to show mercy and forgive others of their trespasses, from the heart! Two great examples of mercy are shown to us by Jesus in the gospels. One is in the story of “the good Samaritan” in Luke 10:25-37 where the Jewish man fell victim and was in need of a merciful friend; the religious crowd did not help him but a despised Samaritan (for the Jews and Samaritans were at enmity) stopped to help him at his own expense. This is an exact picture of what God has done for us and Jesus said “Go and do likewise.” We again see mercy demonstrated as Jesus deals with Peter in John 21:1-19, remember that just days before this Peter had denied that he even knew Jesus, three times, and on top of that he returned to his old life and influenced several others to go back with him, yet Jesus gives complete restoration telling Peter to “Feed My lambs”, “Tend My sheep”, and “Feed My sheep”. In Luke 6:36 speaking of loving even our enemies, which definitely includes showing mercy, Jesus says, “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” By showing mercy you put yourself in a position to receive mercy when you need it!
Merciful
By Rose Hill
Happy are you if you are kind,
And showing mercy all the time.
For mercy will return to you,
Just when you are feeling blue.
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Co. used by permission.