March Like Jesus
… In Our Attitudes – Part III
Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:1-12
Key Verse: Matthew 5: 7
“God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy”.
Our third “marching order” given to us by Jesus is about an attitude of mercy when dealing with people. All of us, who know God at all, realize how merciful God has been to us; it should not surprise us that He wants us to pass it on to the people we encounter.
To say that this marching order is hard for us to obey is no surprise either! It is so easy for us to spot faults in other people. When others’ faults affect us, it is hard to be merciful toward them.
I have found a couple of ways to keep mercy going in my daily life. First, I ask the Lord to remind me of His mercy to me. These reminders bring my mind back to the many ways I have failed the Lord, and those thoughts quickly tenderize my heart toward others’ failures toward me.
Second, the Lord often brings to my mind the biblical principle of Him measuring me by the measure I use to judge others. This verse surely can help anyone that is struggling with giving people around them mercy:
“For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:2)
An illustration that I often use to describe this verse is “do you want God to measure you with a ruler or a measuring tape?” The ruler is hard and inflexible, and the measuring tape is flexible. A measuring tape would not hurt much if hit with it. I never went to a Catholic School, but I have heard stories from those who have about nuns rapping them hard with a ruler on their knuckles. I want to live in a way that God does not need to crack me with a hard ruler… how about you?
It helps our mercy to increase when we realize that God is watching and that He matches our level of mercy toward other people with His level of His mercy toward us!
A very human thought creeps into our minds when we talk about giving mercy to those around us. We usually phrase this thought in a couple of ways. One is “if you knew how that person treated me, you would understand why I didn’t show them mercy”. Another phrase is “that person doesn’t deserve my mercy”.
How many times, when we fail God, could He have said “I can’t believe the way you acted; you don’t deserve my mercy?”. Be grateful that God does not think that way toward you!
Today, receive your “marching orders” from the Lord. Go into this day and show everyone generous mercy!
Father, I need Your help to give people the great mercy You have shown me. Bless me with Your wisdom and strength. I pray in Jesus’s Name, amen.