blessed are the merciful...

July 11 Walk&Talk devotion

Surely GOD asked me to write on the beatitudes so that I might really reflect and think on them, and apply them to MY life. I've needed reminding that spiritual poverty, mourning, meekness, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and now, mercy... are all blessed conditions of the human soul turning me toward GOD.

"Blessed are the merciful, they will be shown mercy."

(Matthew 5:6)

Do I want to be shown mercy?...I'm desperate for it. Please GOD, don't treat me as my sins deserve.

ps. 103:10-14 calls out my comfort:

"HE (GOD) does not treat us as our sins deserve

or repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is HIS love for those who fear HIM,

as far as the east is from the west,

(they never meet - east and west)

so far has HE removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on his children,

so the LORD has compassion on those who fear HIM;

for HE knows how we are formed.

HE remembers that we are dust...."

In our call to execute "like" merciful behavior, how are we to look at, and respond to. each other? Is there room?...where is the place.. for correction, when we see a sister who could be "doing better," walking "straighter" - from our perspective, "trying harder"..? Hmmm, this is tricky. Coming from someone as pristine as GOD, correction/rebuke is one thing - Pity from HIM, toward me, the dusty one, is welcomed - even longed for. But pity from another fellow dust mite, feels.....well, like judgement.

It's difficult to deliver loving correction without the message perceived being "GOD has mercy on you and so do I, BUT - you're not measuring up and I pity you. The pity, disappointment and judgement sound louder than does the mercy. Speaking pridefully, (this is a confession) from my own wounded heart, pity and mercy seem, in practice/hearing - interchangeable terms. I'm guessing I'm not the only person who doesn't want pity from anyone excepting THE ALMIGHTY.

I mention the word "judgement," which I understand to be an antonym of "mercy." Maybe by looking at the shortcomings of human judgement, we can better understand how we might administer mercy. The most fitting definition, in context, Webster gives is: "to form an opinion or estimate about, to criticize...." The problem with forming an opinion about a person's words or actions is that rarely do we have the whole picture. Our perspective of the situation is colored by our own experiences, values, ideals, etc... We expect others to meet the standards we hold for ourselves, or standards GOD has called US to, without consideration of what GOD has asked of THEM.

Ken Wilson puts it well, in his book Mystically Wired:

"The messy thing about Love, of course,

is its particularity.

We don't love humanity;

we love humans who come in all sorts of

very particular forms-

each one different from all the rest."

Our failure to love, in light of GOD's MERCY, comes from an inability to understand another person to their depths, and see them as only GOD can see them. Each person has their own set of invisible obstacles to overcome, their own set of strengths and weaknesses, their own timetable/ scope and sequence, to use educational terms, for growth and processing. In other words, that other person is NOT us. My mom had about a hundred "old sayings" she liked to throw out all the time, always with the intro "my mom always said...." (I feel I was constantly taught by a grandmother I never knew.) Now my kids say, "Mom, grandma has too many sayings." "Don't judge another person till you've walked a mile in their shoes." And "If you live in a glass house, don't throw stones.." are two which come to mind. The problem is...we never put on the other person's shoes; we couldn't, they would never fit us. And my house is definitely made of glass.

Isaiah tells us...

HE (Jesus) will not judge by what HE sees with HIS eyes,

or decide by what HE hears with HIS ears...(11:4)

In GOD's mercy, HE sees our heart. To act in mercy, we need to see people through GOD's eyes. Merciful behavior, more than anything, necessitates GOD's perspective.

W&T Questions :

1. How do you define MERCY? Is this something you feel you are in need of?

2. How do you understand/recognize GOD "not treating you you as your sins deserve?"

3. Have you experienced merciful treatment from others? How has this felt?

4. Does the term Merciful or Judgemental better describe you? (don't answer this, just think about it)