Blessed Are The Merciful

Yesterday at small group, we discussed the beatitudes. It's also known as the Sermon on the Mount. I'm sure many of you are familiar with it - or at least it sounds familiar. I've heard it plenty of times, but like my leaders said, "it's always good to go back to the basics."

And [Jesus] opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 

After reading the section, there's an overarching theme. Everything that Jesus says seems to be opposite of how our world runs. Since when has society told us that humility will cause us to inherit everything? All I remember hearing is "if you don't fight for what you want, then you won't become successful." How often do we show mercy to others? We seem to operate on the idea of "an eye for an eye".

I wonder what would happen if our world became like this - right now. What would happen if everyone became selfless, merciful, and peacemaking. It's nearly impossible for my mind to fathom such a thing - which is quite sad. But it excites me because that's what the world will be when Christ returns. No weeping, no pain, no hurt, no war, no brokenness. The list can go on and on.

But that doesn't mean we should sit and wait. We can strive to be like Christ with the power of Christ in us. We can be influencers by going into the world and showing them what could be and will be. We don't have to be on the defensive, trying to avoid the world and it's ideologies. We can be on the offensive by sharing the grace we have received.