Mercy and men surely don’t go together! Maybe machismo, but not mercy. Well, the world’s only perfect man, Jesus Christ, speaking to Christian men, calls them to be merciful. He goes against the norms of the prevailing culture and says, Men in my kingdom are to have the character quality of mercy.
Mercy is compassion for people in need. It involves seeing a person in distress, feeling pity for them in your heart and then taking concrete action to relieve the distress regardless of the person. The Good Samaritan in Luke 10 is a great example of mercy. He sees the distress of the Jew left for dead on the side of the road (v. 33). His heart wells up with pity (v. 33). He proceeds to take concrete action to relieve the distress (v. 34). To cap it off, the Samaritan does all this for an enemy — the Samaritans didn’t get along with the Jews.
Opportunities for mercy abound in our lives as men. Think about it. What opportunities confront you right now? This week? Maybe the following examples will remind you of a situation in your own life:
· From time to time someone at work will be going through a rough time at home or because of job pressures. This can be an opportunity for you to come along and inquire if there is something you can do to help.
· Perhaps your spouse or one of your kids make a bad decision that creates problems. You could either blast them or realize their frail nature, take pity and work to assist them in correcting the problem.
· The Lord may bring a poor person along your path; more often than not, our hearts ought to be moved with compassion to wisely assist him.
Do you have any situations right now where mercy is in order? What is holding you back?
A merciful heart comes from a person to whom God has shown mercy in Christ. God the Father saw your plight, He took pity, and sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to bear your wrath and suffer your punishment. As a result, when you repented of your sin and trusted in Christ, you were forgiven and made right with God. (See Psalm 103:8-14.)
Christ ends this beatitude as he has all the others, pointing out why a disciple is blessed if he has the character quality of which He is speaking. Here He says that you will be shown mercy. In other words, when Christ returns, those who will receive mercy from Him are people who have been merciful themselves. Christ will look at the evidences of your trusting in Him for salvation. And when He sees works of faith, such as mercy, He will pour out His mercy and welcome you into His heavenly, eternal kingdom. This is something to motivate you to show mercy now, and something to look forward to in the future.
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