God Blesses Mercy, Pure Hearts, and Making Peace
Daily Scripture
Matthew 5:7-9
7 “Happy are people who show mercy, because they will receive mercy.
8 “Happy are people who have pure hearts, because they will see God.
9 “Happy are people who make peace, because they will be called God’s children.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Is it obvious that God blesses these good traits? That wasn’t clear in Jesus’ day. One scholar said, “Jesus says people ordinarily thought to be unblessed and unblessable” are blessed. The Sermon on the Mount “has actually changed our minds on some of these categories today such as ‘the merciful,’ ‘the pure in heart,’ or ‘the peacemakers,’ but they were not thought to be blessed in Jesus’ day. And, frankly, even today when life’s priorities are set, these categories stand pretty low.” * Jesus reversed his culture’s values, and still challenges ours today.
- The theme of “mercy” ran throughout Matthew’s portrait of Jesus. He twice quoted Hosea 6:6: “I want mercy and not sacrifice” (Matthew 9:13, 12:7; see also Matthew 23:23). Then as now, too many “religious” people thought faith called them mainly to condemn others they saw as “sinners.” Jesus vision was radically different. How has experiencing Jesus’ mercy and love shaped—maybe reshaped—the way you view and treat other people? In what ways has Jesus’ model challenged any desire to judge rather than show mercy?
- Jesus blessed those with “pure hearts,” a resolute devotion that allows us to “see God”—to grasp God’s presence and work in the world. Jesus declaring “wonderful news” for those who make peace evoked the Hebrew word shalom, which meant “complete well-being,” not just “no conflict.” This blessing speaks to all that divides us from one another. “Peacemakers are involved in practices that nurture well-being in the midst of situations marked by bad relations or hostility.” ** Real peacemaking takes honestly seeing wrongs, not sweeping them under the rug. What makes this honesty crucial?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, make me an instrument of your mercy and your peace. Give me a pure heart—single-minded devotion to you—so I can see you at work and reflect your character to others. Amen.
GPS Insights
Ginny Howell
Ginny Howell, who serves as the Worship Experience Director for Resurrection, wrote today's Insights. She leads the church’s efforts to provide radical hospitality and an excellent worship experience across all of our locations. She’s a mom to three, g-momma to one sweet little boy, and shares much of her time with her closest companion, a rescued Pit Bull named Lola.
Did you ever play the game “Mercy” when you were a kid? Not sure why it was a game, really. It had an extremely predictable outcome in most cases and wasn’t really fun. To play, you grip hands with your opponent, interlacing fingers to hold your hands palm-to-palm. Then you would attempt to turn the opponent’s hands over and push their wrist backwards until one of you gave up and said “MERCY!” because you thought your wrist was about to break. Some game, huh?
I grew up in a neighborhood where I was the only girl. My older brother and the other boys in the neighborhood would ride bikes and run through the woods for hours, and I tagged along regularly. Sometimes because I had FOMO (fear of missing out) and other times because mom said, “take your sister …”
When I was 9, mercy meant something different to me than it does now. I didn’t hear the word “mercy” in any context outside of that backyard challenge from an older boy. Mercy was something to ask for when I couldn’t take the physical pain anymore. Mercy was something to grant when I had dominated, which happened every once in a while, even though I was younger and a girl.
Having a pure heart, making peace and granting mercy are vital to the Christian life, and yet, we don’t always recognize the times when we need to exercise those qualities the most. Nobody is screaming, “MERCY!” to me when they are hurting or in pain. And yet, if I am paying attention, there are people and relationships where mercy is the only thing I can contribute to making a situation better, by cultivating a connection or fostering a better relationship.
Mercy isn’t about winning, but yet, it totally is. Not granting mercy because you feel justified or entitled in some way doesn’t really bring good to you, though it just might give you the satisfaction of feeling right for a short time. In the end, our relationships rarely flourish based on who is right. Bringing peace to a situation, setting aside your own desires and extending grace and mercy are the true magic when it comes to relationships–this is where the win comes in.
Where in your life is there room to extend mercy in ways that would bring peace or build others up? When have you done so and felt the rewards of that for yourself as well as someone else?
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Ben Witherington III and Darlene Hyatt, study note on Matthew 5:1-12 in The Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible. HarperSanFrancisco, 2005, p. 1800.
** Eugene Eung-Chun Park and Joel B. Green, study note on Matthew 5:9 in The CEB Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013, p. 12-13 NT.
