Matthew 5:7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."   We enter the kingdom.. in absolute poverty.. and receive everything from the loving hand of our King.  Everything.  This compassion.. this mercy.. is given freely from the One whose mercies fail not!   

When we come to Jesus, acknowledging our absolute poverty of spirit, when we have mourned our sins, when we have humbly surrendered everything to Him, and when we have had our great hunger for Him.. for His righteousness.. satisfied... then we recognize this great mercy that He has poured out upon us in love and patience.  Then.... we begin to learn how vital mercy is and how much it means to Him that we show mercy to others.  This is His will for us.. 

The Bible has so much to say about being merciful.  Mercy is something that God counts so important that He measures it!  " Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." Jesus taught, "Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by the standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." (Luke 6:36,38)   James wrote, "So speak and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgement will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgement." ( James 2:12-13)

Mercy is tied to judgement and forgiveness in the scriptures. Jesus told a parable about that in Matthew 18.  Peter had asked about how many times they should forgive someone.  Jesus told him "seventy times seven"..  over and over and over again.  "For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a certain king... "  We know the story. The king wanted to settle a debt from one of his servants who owed him a vast amount of money.  The servant couldn't pay and begged for forgiveness and it was granted to him.  However, he then went to someone who owed him a little bit of money and demanded repayment. When that fellow couldn't pay and begged for some time to repay the debt.. the man refused to wait and threw him in prison.  The king found out and said, "Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, even as I had mercy on you?"   Jesus concluded this parable with these words, "So shall My heavenly Father also do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart." 

The old Testament book of Hosea also shows us  much about God's mercy. It is Who God is.. a God of mercy and compassion.. a God who forgives.. and redeems and restores those who will come to Him.  He said to sinful, rebellious Israel.. ".. I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and in compassion, And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.Then you will know the Lord." ( Hosea 2:19-20) "I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, and will say to those people, You are my people! And they will say, 'Thou are my God!'" ( v23).  In 12:6 God speaks to His people saying, "Therefore return to your God, observe kindness ( mercy) and justice, and wait for your God continually."  Likewise, Micah wrote, "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness (mercy), and to walk humbly with your God?" (6:8)

We cannot live unmerciful, unkind, unforgiving lives and be Kingdom people. It is sometimes a very difficult struggle for us. But, we already know that we are poor and helpless.. and we mourn our sin of unkindness and failure to have mercy. We hunger for His righteousness.. and are satisfied by His merciful gift of forgiveness.  He will abundantly provide mercy so that we will become like Him.. merciful.. for He will give to us His Spirit. 

Max Lucado says this about the fruit of kindness.. "I choose kindness. I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me." 

Father in heaven, Your lovingkindness is greater than life.  Your mercy is a sea. You are amazing God! How thankful we are to have such a God as You.  My heart is full of praise and worship, of grateful and humble awe as I think of these truths.  Please forgive me for withholding mercy and forgiveness to any who have sinned against me.  Fill my heart with what is good.. that I might be just and merciful in all my ways. I am in Your hands, Lord God, may Your will be done in me.. on earth.. as it is in heaven.  Amen.