Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. (Luke 5:7).
Dear God of mercy and love. Here we come again accepting the anointing that You have promised to those who stand in need of Your amazing mercy and grace! May we live everyday of our lives to bring You glory, in the wondrous name of Jesus the Christ we pray. Amen.
This is the fifth day of our journey studying the Happiness Code. We have come to a link that is very near and dear to us – it is the beatitude that speaks of mercy. Everyone who have received mercy can testify to the fact that their lives have never been the same again. Merciful acts touch us deep in our souls; in places where nothing else can.
The happiness of the merciful is derived from their acts of mercy because mercy is promised to those who are merciful to others. The rule is that the one who shows no mercy receives no mercy. The apostle James states it this way:
“So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:12, 13. Emphasis provided.). The context where this Scripture is taken from is one that speaks of the final judgment. The law by which judgment will be decided is referred to as the Law of Liberty, or, the Royal Law really, the Law of Love (James 2:8). For love and mercy go hand in hand. And mercy will have the last word!
As human beings we cannot show mercy of our own volition. It is a divine trait of character. It is God who teaches men, women and children to be merciful. That is why mercy will have the last word in the judgment – because God is the judge.
In the book of Lamentations we find one of the sweetest mentions of mercy in the entire Bible, “This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:21-23. Emphasis provided.).
Acts of kindness have a way of repaying the doers of kind deeds. Merciful acts repay those who show mercy. Indeed, happy are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy!