BEATITUDE #5:
“Blessed are the MERCIFUL, for they shall obtain mercy.”
Many try to define mercifulness in a humanistic way. They speak of mercy as a virtue and say that if you are good to everyone, they will be good to you.
Well, mercy given isn’t necessarily mercy returned. Jesus was the most merciful person who ever lived, yet He was crucified. If mercy carried its own reward, Jesus wouldn’t have been nailed to a cross, spat upon, and cursed. Jesus received no mercy from those He gave mercy to. Mercy is not a human virtue that brings its own reward. Jesus’ emphasis was that if a person is merciful to others, God will be merciful to them!
Mercy comes from a heart that has first felt its spiritual bankruptcy, has come to grief over its sin, has learned to wait meekly for the timing of the Lord, and hungered for the work of God’s mercy to satisfy them with the righteousness they need.
The key to becoming a merciful person is to become a ‘broken’ person. You get the power to show mercy from the real feeling in your heart that our mercy to each other comes from God’s mercy to us.
Therefore, if you want to become a merciful person, it is imperative that you cultivate a view of God and yourself that helps you to say with all your heart that every joy and virtue and even distress of your life is owing to the free and undeserved mercy of God.
Mercy and its derivatives always deal with pain and distress, which are the results of sin. However, grace deals with sin itself. Mercy deals with the symptoms of the disease, while grace deals with the disease itself. Mercy offers relief from punishment, while grace offers pardon for the crime. Mercy eliminates the punishment due for sin, while grace removes a person’s sin.
Mercy speaks of compassion in action. It goes beyond merely feeling compassion or sympathy. It is doing something good to anyone who has a need. True mercy is genuine compassion with a pure and unselfish motive that reaches out to help those in need. They don’t set themselves above anyone—they stoop to help others.
In Luke 10:30-35 Jesus tells of a Jewish man who was robbed and beaten. He was left lying on the side of the road. A priest went by but didn’t want to help so he kept on walking. A Levite went by and did the same. Then a Samaritan saw the maimed man and stopped to care for him. He bound up the man’s wounds and poured oil on them–that was mercy. He rented a room for him at an inn so he
would have a place to stay—that was grace. By mercy the Samaritan dealt with the beaten man’s wounds. By grace he provided him with a better condition. God’s mercy deals with the negatives of our sin and His grace does something positive for us. His mercy says, “No hell.” His grace says, “Heaven.” His mercy pities; His grace pardons. Mercy and grace are two sides of the same coin offered in salvation through Christ. (Mercy is not getting something bad that you do deserve. Grace is getting something good that you don’t deserve).
Mercy is the loving disposition towards those who suffer distress. As we are merciful to others, so our Heavenly Father will be merciful with us! Jesus reminds us that whatever “you did to the least of my brethren, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:35-40). The following are ways this area of Scripture cites on how Jesus says one is to be merciful to their ‘neighbor’:
– Feed the hungry
– Give drink to the thirsty
– Shelter the homeless
– Clothe the naked
– Visit the sick
– Comfort the imprisoned
[ My church, Faith Covenant, just completed an ‘initiative’ called, “Advent Lights,” which used this area of Scripture to help those in their surrounding community with their gifts of time, talent, and treasure. For more info, visit their web page: http://www.4fcc.org/adventlights/ ].
The merciful become a ‘channel’ of God’s mercy showing kindness to those who need it, and help those who need their ‘wounds’ healed—especially since God has shown them mercy, and that they know that they will need more mercy in the future (“Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?” [ Matthew 18:33 ]; “There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you” [ James 2:13 ]). They also know that they cannot receive what they are unwilling to give.
Jesus said that those who show mercy when there is no earthly reward or recognition, or when it is ‘costly’ or dangerous to show mercy, will experience the “overwhelming” mercy of God.
Merciful people know that showing mercy brings happiness (“Your own soul is nourished when you are kind; it is destroyed when you are cruel” [ Proverbs 11:17 ]). They show it in a few ‘practical’ ways:
– They are ‘patient’ with other people’s ‘idiosyncrasies’ (“Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love” [ Ephesians 4:2 ]).
– They help anyone that needs help—even if it is ‘costly’ to them [ The “Good Samaritan” ]. (“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them” [ Proverbs 3:27 ]).
– They are kind to even those people who ‘offend’ them: “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate” [ Luke 6:35-36 ].
Some people think mercy overrides demands of justice and means that people don’t need to pay for wrongdoing. Well, God never violates His justice and holiness in being merciful. He extends His mercy only because His justice has been satisfied.
The supreme act of God’s mercy was what He did for us on the ‘cross’. Because of what Christ did there, He became our merciful High Priest (Hebrews 2:17). Donald Grey Barnhouse said, ”When Jesus Christ died on the cross, all of the work of God for man’s salvation passed out of the realm of prophecy and became historical fact.”
There is a merciless judgment awaiting those who do not accept the sacrifice of Christ. God won’t show sentimental mercy to those who never acknowledged His Son. If we want God to be merciful to us we must confess our sins and ‘turn’ from them.
The merciful don’t tolerate sin–they recognize that sin will be punished. But they do bear the insults of evil men and women with hearts full of compassion. Those who are merciful are sympathetic, forgiving, gracious, and loving.
A merciful person reaches out to forgive, care for, and help others. He doesn’t ‘step on other people’s necks’ or think of himself as superior. God is not only ‘watching’ if you do mercy, but also your attitude while you are giving mercy!
If you are a merciful person God will continually pour out His mercy on you. He will forgive your sins and meet your needs.
Is your life characterized by a ‘merciful’ heart?
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FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT #5:
KINDNESS
Kindness could be defined as an attractive temperament that shows mercy, generosity, and charity to others—an action which flows out of a ‘spirit’ that seeks good and not harm.
In most cases, kindness is not beyond any of us because it usually costs no money to do. It may take the sacrifice of time, energy, or discipline to be thoughtful of others’ needs and to make the effort to act. But, the ‘consequences’ of kindness are incalculable—for such a spirit can ‘ripple’ out to touch the lives of those far removed from the original act. Kindness sows the seeds that can only bear good fruit.
Though the world encourages us to get even with those who hurt us, God has a higher ‘calling’ for those He calls His children. We are to be kind to everyone instead of seeking to “get even.” We are not to seek revenge and payback for evil done to us. We are to be kind and show kindness whenever possible.
The Greek word for kindness is “chrestotes” (pronounced: krey-stah-teys) and “hesed” in the Hebrew. They can be translated as good, gentle, sweet, and useful. It often is related to philanthropy or forbearance. It is the grace which pervades the person’s whole nature, ‘mellowing’ all which would be harsh and austere. The word is descriptive of one’s disposition—the ‘attitude’ in which an act is done—and does not necessarily entail acts of goodness.
Freedom of decision to give is essential to kindness. The help given by the person showing it should be done freely—without compulsion—not reducing it to be a merely obligatory, mechanical, legal act rather than an act of free-moral agency of the heart.
We know that sometimes doing an act of kindness is difficult in itself, let alone doing it with a concerned, warm and generous spirit. We must always remember, however, that Jesus did it, that our Father God requires it of us if we are to be like Him, and that He has given us His Spirit to enable us to do it. The choice is ours.
We all can show kindness to others. All it requires is a consistent obedience to God’s Word, a ‘filling’ of His Spirit, and a willingness to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit—as we are empowered by the Spirit. Kindness can change this harsh world on a person by person basis, and you will be ‘rewarded’ for doing so!
We know it is easy to show kindness to those who are pleasant, friendly and kind, but God has a higher ‘calling’ for Christians. He wishes us to be kind to all people, even those who are mean, ungrateful and unkind. God is our example again, for He shows kindness at times even to the ungrateful and wicked. “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked” [ Luke 6:35 ].
This godly trait and fruit of the Spirit comes from the Holy Spirit empowering our lives. When we think of kindness, we may think it is timid and weak, though often it takes great strength of character and determination to let the Holy Spirit empower us to be kind to others—especially those who have a tendency to wound or do us harm. The world can be an insensitive and brutal place at times, but when we demonstrate the virtue of kindness to others it can soften the harshness of the situation.
Again, God is our ‘model’ of kindness. His gracious gifts to us are more than we deserve. They are unearned and unmerited by us who have willingly sinned against Him, and have either ignored or neglected His awesome purpose for our lives. However, despite this, His gifts of life are nonetheless unforced and an abundant manifestation of His kind nature. He does not return evil for evil, does not bear grudges, or ‘burn’ with resentment to get even (as we may do). Rather, He freely gives even to ‘evil doers’, while He patiently works toward the completion of His ultimate purpose—for all to be ‘saved’ and come to know Him intimately!
God’s kindness ‘saves’ us from harm, and illustrates the immensity of His grace towards us. His kindness also demonstrates His great love for us. This serves as an example for us to follow. As we are ‘filled’ with God’s love, we are to demonstrate this love towards others as we show kindness to them—even in difficult situations. The “Samaritan” did not inquire whether or not the wounded man was “one of his own.” The only criterion was that he needed an act of kindness performed for him in his desperately weakened situation. “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” [ Ephesians 4:32 ].
When Paul illustrated how love acts, patience leaped into his mind first: “Love suffers long” (1 Corinthians 13:4). Immediately following that, he writes, “and is kind”—giving the impression that love and kindness belong together to such an extent that we can conclude that without kindness no act is truly done in love!
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” [ Colossians 3:12-14 ].
Being kind and merciful is evidence that we have God’s Spirit in us, and that the love of God is ‘working’ in our hearts—producing good ‘fruit’. For proof of the importance of passing on God’s kindness—expressed in His giving us His Spirit and promising we will receive yet more mercy for being merciful—listen to Jesus’ words:
“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ …And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’” [ Matthew 25:34-36, 40 ].
Kindness is something that we must develop, but we don’t have to do it by ourselves—because God has ‘enabled’ the Christian with His Spirit. This ‘fruit’ is especially sweet tasting, and a major factor in producing “perfect unity.”
