Chapter 6 - The
Beatitudes
Mat 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall
obtain mercy.
Bonhoeffer- 'These
men without possessions or power, these strangers on earth, these sinners,
these followers of Jesus, have in their life with him renounced their own
dignity, for they are merciful. As if their own needs and their own distress
were not enough, they take upon themselves the distress and humiliation and sin
of others. They have an irresistible love for the down-trodden, the sick, the
wretched, the wronged, the outcast and all who are tortured with anxiety. They
go out and seek all who are enmeshed in the toils of sin and guilt. No distress
is too great, no sin too appalling for their pity. If any man falls into
disgrace the merciful will sacrifice their own honor to shield him and take his
shame upon themselves. They will be found consorting with publicans and
sinners, careless of the shame they incur their by. In order that they may be
merciful they cast away the most priceless treasure of human life, their
personal dignity and honor. For the only honor and dignity they know is their Lord's
own mercy, to which alone they owe their very lives.'
My thoughts-
Mercy.
'mer·cy
[mur-see] Show IPA
noun, plural mer·cies
for 4, 5.
1.
compassionate or
kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's
power; compassion, pity, or benevolence:
Have mercy on the poor sinner.
2.
the disposition to
be compassionate or forbearing: an adversary wholly without mercy.
3.
the discretionary power
of a judge to pardon someone or to mitigate punishment, especially to send to prison rather than
invoke the death penalty.
4.
an act of kindness, compassion,
or favor: She has performed countless small mercies for her friends and
neighbors.
5.
something that gives
evidence of divine favor; blessing: It was just a mercy we had our seat belts
on when it happened. '
*******
Mercy.
Without the mercy of
our Lord and Savior we have NO hope.
Mat 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall
obtain mercy.
The mercy our Lord
shows to us is the SAME mercy we are to show to others. The merciful are blessed because they will be
shown mercy. If we refuse to be merciful, there will be no mercy shown to us.
Just as we are to
forgive so we will be forgiven, we must have mercy if we want mercy.
The trouble is, we
find ourselves being so incredibly unforgiving and unmerciful. We are not our
Savior, but creatures He created. Creatures that fail so often to be what we
know in our hearts He desires. Creatures that HAVE to TOTALLY rely upon HIS
mercy, HIS forgiveness to save us! We cannot save ourselves, not even help to
save ourselves, we have to completely rely upon Jesus Christ our Lord. The only
thing we can do is SURRENDER to Him! When we surrender to Him then He can work
in US. And by Him, by the Holy Spirit we will be able to be merciful, we'll be
able to be loving, forgiving, and ONLY through HIS power, not of our own.
Please Lord, love
through us! Use us as You desire, for Your purposes! All for YOUR love! May we
be among the merciful so we may obtain mercy!
In YOUR LOVE ALWAYS!
No comments:
Post a Comment