Sept 25 - Matthew 5:7

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will receive mercy.

Matthew 5:7

 

What is mercy?

 

I'm told that Shakespeare called it "nobility's true badge."

I'm told that it's also the only word that Chuck Norris doesn't know the meaning of!

 

The Urban Dictionary also reminded me that it's a game you played with your little brother -- whipping his arm behind his back, causing pain, as if you're threatening to break his arm, and demanding that he cry out, "Mercy!" (Which is the opposite of mercy, of course!)

 

Mercy, like most of these beatitudes is relational. Why? Because all of life is relational. 

We live because of God's mercy and grace. If our Lord wasn't loving and forgiving -- merciful -- our hope would be hellish. Yes, we live because of God's mercy and grace. 

But let me take this a step further ... We live when we're merciful to others. Meaning: We live more fully. We discover, indeed, what living is all about. 

Forgiveness is arguably the most important thing in the world. Why? Because that's the whole reason that Jesus can to this earth. 

 

Forgiveness and mercy are subsets of a greater love. And without love, life is not life. It's just a pale caricature of what living is meant to be. 

 

Who do you need to forgive -- to merciful too?

 

It's hard. I know. They hurt you. But if you want a greater life, the "blessing," as Jesus said, begins when you are merciful. 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who occasionally

spells "mercy" with an "i"

-- “Father, merci (thank you)

for your mercy”