Blessed are the Merciful

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”- Matthew 5:7

As Christians, mercy often gets confused with grace or forgiveness. So what is biblical mercy? In this verse, the Greek word for mercy is “eleemon”. In English, this translates to the action of helping to those in need. So if God gave us “eleemon”, not only does it show how merciful God is, but it also shows how needy we are.

However, it is important to note that we can only be merciful because God IS merciful. A.W. Tozer described mercy perfectly when he said, “Mercy is not something God has but something God is.”

And we see examples of the God of Mercy throughout the Bible. One of these examples is in Luke 6:36 which says, “Therefore, be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”

But what does God’s mercy look like? As usual, the answers can be found in the Bible. Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.”

Not only was God mercy shown when Jesus died on the cross, but Gods mercy continues to be shown as we are made anew each day.

Since God gives us mercy, we are called to do so too, but what does this look like for us?

Here are some ideas:

•Volunteer at your local homeless shelter

•Help that kid in your math class that has no idea what the teacher is talking about

•Help your family do the dishes after your parents had a long day at work

Questions to Consider

What does it mean to be merciful?

What are some examples of Gods mercy?

How can you show mercy towards others?