Blessed Are The Merciful

It is interesting to note that the Roman virtues of wisdom, justice, moderation, and courage did not include mercy. Emotion of any kind for another person was not considered a virtue. Notice the key virtues that the Apostle Paul includes in his letter to Timothy.

To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. (NASB) 1 Tim. 1:2

Mercy - Now. Today, mercy is missing in our societies and cultures too! Many of them are murdering their children. We call it abortion. Approximately 1.4 million babies are aborted or murdered every year in he United States. Abortion is legal in fifty-four countries or sixty-one percent of the world population. Forty-six million abortions occur every year and 126,000 occur every day. Many women murder their babies due to inconvenience, economics, a desire for independence, ignorance, or for other reasons. There is no mercy!

It is reported that a truck driver was once eating in a restaurant in Nebraska when three bikers who were wearing leather coats with chains came in and sat down next to him. One of the bikers reached over and took the truck driver’s drink, the second biker took his french fries, and the third one grabbed his hamburger. After the bikers had taken all of his food, the truck driver stood up, walked over to the cash register, handed the waitress his bill, paid for his food, and left the restaurant. After the trucker driver had left, one of the bikers said, “He wasn’t much of a man.” The waitress responded, “I don’t know about that, but he’s not much of a truck driver. He just ran over three motorbikes.” We laugh at the event because we respond with a sense of justice. But Jesus never said anything about justice in the beatitudes. The beatitudes address issues that are not obvious or are ignored.

Mercy is missing among us, and Jesus included it in a beatitude. Mercy is missing when babies are aborted. Mercy is missing when a society is lawsuit happy, when there is a lack of forgiveness, and violence, and racial and religious hatred abound. Mercy is missing in politics, the workplace, our homes, and churches. Many of us are like the Romans. Our virtues do not include mercy. It is missing!

Example of Jesus. So what is mercy? Jesus Himself and the New Testament give us our best illustration of mercy in action. The word mercy appears 11 times in the gospel of Matthew. Unlike the Greeks, Romans, and many today, God highly values mercy. Listen to Jesus in Matthew.

But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: “I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,” for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (NASB) Matt. 9:12-13