Teaching from the Mountainside - Pt. 6

[Jesus said] “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” (Matthew 5:7 ESV).

 

My granddaughter, Faith, is on the cross-country team at her high school (Aledo HS). She is pictured here at the beginning of one of her races. The official distance is 5,000 meters, or somewhere just over 3 miles! Of the three girls pictured just coming off the starting line, she is on the left. You can see the painted determination on her face if you look closely. She is running with two others who finished with very fast times also. I am reminded how she started running this event in Middle School. Her first race was eventful. We moved over the course watching her at each of the junctures, encouraging her. She did very well for a beginner and we anticipated she would finish in the middle of the pack at the finish line. Waiting from the stands that had been set up for the finish, we finally spotted her and a teammate running near one another. Faith had a “kick” left for the finish and began to speed ahead of her teammate just as the teammate fell. Faith looked back and saw the stumble. We held our breath. She decided to go back and help her teammate get up and they finished together. That is mercy.

 

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with competition as a sport. However, in life mercy is the attitude that fits with the way Jesus wants for us. Jesus wants us to treasure mercy as a quality of life under his authority. He wants us to embrace compassion and empathy for people who are broken, hurting, and sinful. He wants us to do what we can to alleviate the needs in our fallen world — often stemming from hunger, poverty, and racism.

 

True mercy begins when our hearts are stirred by the pain and suffering that taint every corner of our world. When our hearts are pained with the way things are and we long for the way things are meant to be, we see the world as God sees it. God’s love for a sinful world is what prompted the greatest act of mercy ever. At the cross, God displayed supreme mercy as Jesus willingly took on our punishment so that we could be free from condemnation.

 

God’s mercy to us gives birth to a heart that loves to show mercy to others. To whom will you show mercy today? Showing mercy is the way to receive mercy.