It can be hard to be merciful when people don’t deserve it. Perhaps they have hurt you or someone you love, and they deserve to pay in some way. Sometimes it is just the superiority we feel in comparison to them, and we want them to realize it. So when you show mercy, you risk losing that. It’s something that your “inner accountant” doesn’t want to give up … that accountant warns you that being merciful will make you the loser.
Jesus, however, said something quite different. “Blessed are the merciful.” That is the right place to be, He said. Somehow, rather than being worse off when you forgive, you are better off. To see the benefits of being merciful, there are two key things we need to see, as Pastor Tim said yesterday.
1) Mercy is never deserved. It can only be given to people who deserve something worse. So it always involves risk because we have to give away something that seems like it is ours.
2) We need mercy from God more than people need it from us. (Okay, so that’s an understatement! We cannot calculate how much more we need it!) We don’t deserve His forgiveness but rather His punishment.
Jesus said that those who want and receive God’s mercy are the same people who must learn to show mercy to others. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." (Matthew 5:7)
So where can you show mercy? When have you received mercy? What makes it hard? What makes it rewarding?
