Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
(Matthew 5:7, NKJV).
Dietrich Bonhoeffer said of this verse, “As if their own needs and their own distress are 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.”
The compassionate, the merciful, the ones who feel the pain of others are most like Jesus. Jesus was most often found with the sinners, the hurting, the unchurched, the most debased in society. It was the “Jesus-way” of ministry—that of loving people, praying and ministering to the neediest, the most hated, the most overlooked.
The happiest people are those who show mercy. They get the added benefit of receiving mercy. The tender-hearted get mercy. Isn’t it true? That we like those kinds of people? We feel secure, loved and accepted around such persons.
As we give away compassion—united in pain, feeling others pain; God will grant us more of His compassion. It’s a Kingdom Principle—the more you give away, the more God gives back.
Working on being more merciful,
Steve
Steve Holt M.A., D.D.
My newest book, Worshipper Warrior, can be found at www.steveholtonline.org
and www.amazon.com
