"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive
mercy."
The outward demonstration of the Christian character is
shown in "mercifulness" (eleos).This is the missionary and
altruistic attitude of the Christian in empathizing with the unbeliever,
suffering with him the consequences of his sin, and doing everything possible
to relieve the tragic results. The difference between "grace" (charis) and eleos, is that the first affects the character of a person and
changes it. Only God can affect grace but we are admonished to show mercy and
be eleemones, "merciful",
to alleviate the consequences of sin. As God satisfies our hunger for
righteousness, He makes the believing one merciful.
The word 'altruistic' underlined above, defined by Merriam-Webster
as "unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of
others"
The word 'missionary' underlined above is an adjective to the word
'attitude'. To have a missionary attitude one must look at the different
meanings of the word.
(A) a ministry commissioned by a
religious organization to propagate its faith or carry on humanitarian work
(B)
assignment to or work in a field of missionary enterprise
(C) (1) a
mission establishment (2) a local church or
parish dependent on a larger religious organization for direction or financial
support d plural : organized missionary
work (3) course of sermons and services given to convert the un-churched or
quicken Christian faith
(D) a body of persons sent to perform a
service or carry on an activity
(E) a specific task with which a person or
a group is charged
"Blessed" is, also defined, and
translated as: "It goes well with those…" Putting all that together, Jesus issued a
simple statement that states this: "It goes well with those believers charged
to empathize with unselfish regard for and devotion to
the welfare of the unbeliever and, suffering with him the consequences
of his sin, do everything possible to relieve the tragic results by sharing
their knowledge and trust in God. They too, then, receive mercy from God."
It might seem a daunting task to not only empathize with the
unbeliever but also suffer the consequences of his sins. Isn't that exactly
what Jesus did for us? Since our hearts as believers long to be more 'Christ-like'
in every aspect of the word, the charge to take the Word of salvation to those
that have not heard seems like a natural progression when viewed from that
perspective. Salvation and the requirements of the true believers set down
before us in the Beatitudes are not little treasure we hide away. On the
contrary, we are to walk and live them openly and publicly for all to see and
emulate. We were lost, too, before we heard of the Truth, the Way, and The
Light. To receive mercy we must first be merciful.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."
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