Our Journey Through the Beatitudes Continues

Week 5, Day 1

Becoming Like Him

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

Matthew 5:7

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is about becoming like him. Disciples are learners, students of their teachers. They don’t just learn what their teachers know; they are influenced to become who their teachers are in character and manner. That’s why Jesus calls us not just to know and agree to the facts of the gospel, but to be formed and shaped by the gospel.

Naturally, we are not like God. We are self-centered and self-serving. We endlessly pursue our own pleasure and happiness. We want what we want when we want it how we want it and we don’t care what it costs to have it. That’s why we desperately need to learn a new way, to become new people, to become like Jesus.

As we learn the way of Christ, Jesus teaches us to put our learning to the test, to make sure we are becoming his disciples and not someone else’s. He says that if we are becoming like him, the characteristics of God will start showing up in our lives, characteristics like humility, holiness, meekness, and mercy. Mercy is the kindness and compassion one shows to another, particularly of the kind expressed by a parent to a child. Mercy is one of the fundamental attributes of God. In fact, when Moses taught the children of Israel about the character of God, he told them the first thing God is is merciful. If mercy is at the leading edge of God’s person and work, then as his followers we know we are becoming like God when responding to others with mercy becomes our default.

Father, I am not naturally merciful, but I am following your Son, for whose sake you have shown mercy to me. Change me. Make me merciful to others, even and especially when they do not deserve it. 

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Week 5, Day 2

You Owe It To Them

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

Matthew 5:7

One of the chief ways we show mercy to others is by forgiving them when they sin against us. Sometimes it may seem difficult, even impossible to forgive because of the nature of the sin. We may be so harmed by what another person has done that we convince ourselves we could not possibly forgive them. It’s at exactly this point when we owe others our forgiveness, when we ought to be merciful. That’s because it’s at exactly this point that God the Father, for the sake of his Son Jesus Christ, was merciful and forgave us.

There is no greater sin than the sin you and I have committed against God. God is immensely holy, perfectly righteous, altogether good. Everything about God is right and true. Nothing about God is false. Nothing about God is deficient. God is infinite in all his perfections. The heavens are filled with his glory and he reigns over all creation as sovereign.

Contrary to his nature is mankind. We are incredibly sinful, boundless in our rebellion, and there is not one of us who is good. Every rule God has made we have broken. Every word God has spoken we have ignored. We have inverted the order of worship, serving the creature rather than the Creator. The earth is marred by our sin, and we are ruined and condemned spiritually.

Except that Almighty God chose to have mercy upon rebellious man. The apostle Paul put it this way: “God demonstrated his love for us in this, that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” That God has had mercy upon us means that there is quite literally no one to whom we do not owe the same mercy. 

Father, the sins of others against me are small in comparison to how I have sinned against You. Help me forgive all because I have been forgiven all.

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Week 5, Day 3

Refreshing

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

Matthew 5:7

Something magical happens during the summertime. If it hasn’t rained in a few days, things begin to look listless. Flowers start drooping. Grass gets crunchy. Leaves on the tomatoes brown. Without enough water, the world begins to show its need for life. But then a rain shower comes—one of those steady, soaking summertime showers—-and suddenly the things that were withering are wonderfully bright again.

Mercy is like a summer rain. That’s what the apostle Paul meant when he prayed for God’s blessing on his friend, Onesiphorus. You see, the end of Paul’s life was difficult. After two years under house arrest in Rome, Paul had a short time of freedom, but was then arrested again on account of his faith. This time he was held in the Mamertine Prison in Rome. As he waited to be martyred, he wrote of how all those he once called colleagues and friends—people Paul had brought to faith in Jesus— had abandoned him because of his imprisonment. But there was an exception.

When others left Paul to wither away in prison, Onesiphorus looked for a way to refresh his spirit. He traveled 1,200 miles from Ephesus to Rome, a journey that took nearly two months. Then he found Paul in a city with over 1,000,000 people without text messages or turn-by-turn directions, a challenge in itself. Onesiphorus made the effort as a way to show Paul mercy when he needed it most. In doing so, he was like a cool breeze on a hot day, like a summer rain after a dry spell. The mercy was refreshing.

Father, fill my words and ways with mercy so that my presence is refreshing to those I meet. 

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Week 5, Day 4

The Real Thing

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

Matthew 5:7

Three words a Coca-Cola loyalist hates to hear are: “Is Pepsi ok?” Coca-Cola has a rich, crisp bite, compared to the mild, sweet sip of Pepsi. They are not interchangeable. Coca-Cola is, as they say, the real thing. The question can only be answered politely with, “I’ll just have a sweet tea.”

We live in a world where brand loyalty is promoted. Chevrolet, not Ford. Android, not iPhone. Stanley, not Yeti. Pizza Hut, not Dominoes. Everywhere we turn we are making decisions, insisting we know the difference, refusing to take what we consider to be an inferior version. Except, too often, when it comes to following Jesus. 

Perpetually, discipleship is branded as a capital campaign. Its slogan is, “If we build it, they will come.” Increasingly, discipleship is branded as a social media presence. Its slogan is, “We need your help. Follow, subscribe, and hit that “like” button.” Historically, discipleship is branded as a political lobby. Its slogan is, “A little moral compromise is ok if we pass this bill.”

People of genuine longing for Christ too often buy these brands, not realizing that none of them are the real thing. None of these brands or the hundreds of others the world offers lead to the Kingdom of God. That’s because real discipleship is the ministry of mercy for the widow, the orphan, the sick, the stranger, the imprisoned, and the unbelieving. Only in ministering mercy to the least of these have we actually ministered to Jesus himself and shown that we are his.

Father, if I’ve been taken in by a version of discipleship that is false, show me. Make me merciful for that is the way of Jesus. 

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Week 5, Day 5

Don’t Turn Away the Doubters

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

Matthew 5:7

Have you ever listened to a lesson at school and thought, “I don’t have a clue what the teacher is talking about.”

Or maybe you’ve been in the middle of a conversation with a new friend and lost track of what they were saying because you got lost on a word you didn’t understand.

Was there ever a time when you went into a store to ask for directions, only to regret not writing them down when you couldn’t remember if you were to turn left or right by the camouflaged school bus with the oak tree growing out of the top?

At some point we’ve all been or will be in a situation like this—a situation where we are confused, conflicted, or confounded. We need to ask a question, to seek clarity, to better understand, but we hold back, concerned we will be met with indifference or dismissal.

Unfortunately, that happens a lot when we talk about spiritual things. Those of us who have followed Jesus for a long time tend to forget most people don’t have a working knowledge of the Bible and don’t understand the terms we throw around with ease. Many of the lost people with whom we interact have serious questions about spiritual things, but dare not ask for fear they’ll be shut down or shut out for daring to doubt or trying to discover.

We need to remember that part of being merciful in the way of Christ is recognizing that God wants us to help those with no faith come to a knowledge of the truth. If we are going to do that, we have to make room for difficult questions and the people who ask them. It’s why Jude commands, “Have mercy on those who doubt.” 

Father, open my heart to the lost around me. Help me meet them where they are in their spiritual journey with genuine care.