1 - Introduction - Living like a real Christian 6 - Blessed are the merciful | Page 4

I will leave it here for now, but look forward to speaking more on this in the days to
come. Suffice it to say that we are believers today because we are the recipients of
God’s mercy. I ask you, if it were not for the mercy of God being experienced in your
life where would you be?

Prayer Thought: Won’t you contemplate this question and then spend some time just
Thought:
glorying in the wonder of His mercy towards us.

Tuesday
Reading: Matthew 18 v 21 – 35
Building on what we started yesterday I would like to continue on the subject of
mercy today as per Matthew 5 v 7 but today talking about THE SOURCE of mercy.
Jesus, in the parable you have just read, is making a most profound point. The
reason that the servant did not give mercy to the person who owed him a mere token
of what he had just been forgiven was very simply because he had not been grateful
and acknowledged the mercy that he had received at the hand of the king. There is a
very definite link between the acknowledgement of mercy received and the
deliverance of mercy given. The most merciful people in the world are those people
who have been granted mercy at the hands of a higher authority. There is a further
link which I think is noteworthy here and that is the link that exists between
Beatitude number five and Beatitude number one: if you recall back to the week
when we discussed those who are “poor in spirit” we focused on the fact that the poor
in spirit are the ones who acknowledge that they have no merit of their own, they
acknowledge that they are spiritually bankrupt and therefore are pleading for
mercy. I do not want to make this any less than it is because the point here is
somewhat radical. We come into the Kingdom of God pleading for mercy; we live in
the Kingdom of God now giving mercy. The absolute truth here is that you cannot
give what you have not received. But there is to those who have received it an
incredible responsibility to now give it.
This beatitude has to be one of the most practical in the list of nine. Are there any
amongst us who have not been wronged, maligned or misjudged? I could pretty
much guarantee that every one of us has in some shape or form, received unfair
treatment like this. As life goes on, and as life changes, so too do people who have
once been wronged can, over the course of time, find themselves in positions of power
and authority. And they now have in their hands the wherewithal to “get their own
back”. This is where the beatitude of kindness makes such an impact. To be able to
forgive and use that power in a positive way is a test of good character. The desire ((0