The Merciful Are Blessed

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” –Matthew 5:7 (KJV).

 To try to explain and understand the abstract term “mercy” is difficult.  The Greek word—eleeo--translated “mercy” in English describes the emotional response and resulting action after encountering the suffering or affliction of another.  Eleeo describes the act of feeling sorry for or having pity upon, of giving undeserved kindness to or forgiving those who do not deserve it.  Mercy is an attribute of God and is best seen in his redeeming work through Jesus Christ.  Because God had mercy upon humankind, He sent his Son to be the propitiation (atonement) for man’s sin.  In Jesus we see the depth, height and breadth of God’s mercy.

Where mercy is an act of the heart, it assumes need on the part of the person who receives pity and forgiveness.  It also assumes compassion in the heart of the one who extends mercy.  Mercy is a resultant quality of those who are God’s children.  Because He has extended mercy to us, we, in turn, should extend mercy to others.  This beatitude teaches that when we are merciful, we in turn will obtain (receive) mercy.  One of the well-known parables Jesus used to teach eleeo—mercy—is that of the Good Samaritan as recorded in Luke 10:30-37.  The good Samaritan had mercy on the man who had been robbed and wounded, left deserted along the road.  The first to see him went on by without lending a helping hand.  But when the compassionate person saw him, he had mercy upon him, bound up his wounds, took him as gently as possible on his donkey to an innkeeper, and paid for his lodging and care.  “Go and do likewise,”  Jesus told his disciples.

Do you suppose the disciples were silently thinking such thoughts as, “But Master, we live in a dangerous age.  To show such compassion on a person wounded and left on the roadside might implicate us.  We could be accused of the crime.  Or, if the person survives, he might turn on me.  Am I thus to show kindness to a perfect stranger?  After all, I have myself and my family to think about.”  How do we then find a way to show compassion and still maintain safety for ourselves?  There are no easy answers.  But the cry still remains insistent that we are to show mercy because it is God’s way. In His love for us we see His mercy manifested. It should be the desire of our own heart to extend mercy toward others.  Mercy is God’s grace poured out upon those who do not deserve it.  When we are merciful to others, we are exercising godly compassion toward those who may not deserve it and who likely cannot repay our efforts, as in the example of the good Samaritan.  Mercy practiced from a sincere and loving heart becomes a lifestyle when we don’t have to question how or why we help others, but rather how we can help others.  This is God’s way toward us.  Remembering God’s mercy to us, we then can act with compassion and love toward others.