Reflections on Mercy—Matt 5:7

Russ Ramsey

Why show mercy? Just to be nice? We show mercy because we need to be shown mercy and because Christ transforms us into his image—one that is merciful. Your need for the mercy of Christ is as big as anyone else’s. How can you demonstrate the mercy of God to people? There are countless ways, but all of them involve seeing the dignity of that person’s life. And this includes your own life!!!

Perhaps you have an easier time extending mercy to others than to yourself. Know this, you cannot know the full extent of just how precious you are to your Heavenly Father. But at the same time, I challenge you to look for, recognize and acknowledge with gratitude the mercy you have been shown. It is just as wrong to ignore mercy you have been shown as it is to deny mercy to others.

The Beatitude comes with a promise—the merciful will be shown mercy. You need to be shown this mercy as much as anyone. You are being shown mercy. For the believer in Christ you will be shown ultimate mercy on the last day when all that is broken is set right. The promise is this. One day all these wounds that Jesus promises to bind up will have their dressings removed in the presence of the Father. And on that day, when the old has all passed away and all things have been made new, those dressings will be removed and you will see that underneath them, where you were once wounded and hurting, you are now whole! What a glorious promise!