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Blessed Are The Merciful


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

         “I will never forgive (name that horrible person) for (reason he’s a horrible person.)”
         “It’s up to them to take the initiative. Once they ____________, then I will _________. I have been too hurt to make the first move.”
         I have heard these statements from people who claim to be Christians, and, humanly speaking, I understand. I was hurt by my parent’s adherence to an understandable but foolish hospital policy. I was hurt by my brother’s alcoholism and my parents enabling thereof. I’ve been attacked by someone at a church I used to attend As hurts go, they weren’t arterial bleeds. I know people whose injuries were far worse, but my sores turned gangrenous. I had help working through parts of some of them years after they occurred. And while some may proudly say that my injuries don’t meet the threshold to their mercy because their own pain is worse, that’s not what Scripture commands.
         Mercy isn’t feeling sorry for someone. It is showing compassion and forgiveness to someone who doesn’t deserve it even though you have the power to exact revenge or to ignore the need.
          If you think about this statement, it is simply true. It’s not some theological, karma concept telling you that if you’re nice to people, God is going to repay you by being nice to you and if you’re not nice, well, God will get you for that. It’s not just a “spiritual law” but a general reality
         How can you respond to the one who says, “I will never forgive…” or “It’s up to them …?” For how long can you keep showing mercy to someone who with that level of toxicity? On the other hand, someone who extends mercy to others invites mercy from others.

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