Matthew 5:7 — “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”
Our God is a God of mercy—and that is good news for His people, for we need His mercy every single day. He is rich in mercy. Scripture declares:
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Eph. 2:4–5).
God continually shows mercy to His people and delights to do so. His mercy is displayed in His eternal choice of His people and in the giving of Christ, our Savior and Substitute, who secures eternal life, true happiness, and every spiritual blessing. We are justified freely by His righteousness according to the riches of His grace. Because Christ is our Surety, we are preserved forever—not by any merit in ourselves, but solely by His mercy and grace.
God is also “longsuffering” even toward the vessels of wrath, who share in His goodness while they remain on this earth. His kindness should lead them to repentance, yet they abuse and despise it, storing up wrath for themselves against the day of judgment.
How then can the people of God, who have received such abundant mercy, withhold mercy from others? How could we not show kindness, compassion, and forgiveness even to those who wrong us? Our Lord commanded us to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, do good to those who hate us, and pray for those who spitefully use and persecute us. In doing so, we reflect our Father in heaven, “for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt. 5:44–45).
If we, who have been shown so much mercy, fail to extend mercy to others, will not the Lord chasten and correct us? It is a grievous and wicked thing to withhold mercy when we have freely received it in such abundance. Yet we rest in this promise:
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22–23).
Soli Deo Gloria!
Greg Flannery is a Bible Teacher at Redeemer Church of Piketon, Ohio.
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