Running Out of Road

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." – Matthew 5:7

Have you ever tried merging onto a highway in heavy traffic? You're on the on-ramp, traffic is heavy, and your road is going away. You've got to merge onto the highway, but no one is letting you in. You're trying, but you're about to run out of road. So what do you do? You squeeze your car onto that highway, and next thing you know, you hear them honking at you. Your natural reaction is to say, "Hey man, give me a break! Don't you see I'm running out of room? I had to merge on. You need to make room for me."

You want mercy. You want grace. You want somebody to help you out.

But flip the scenario. You're on the highway in bumper-to-bumper traffic. You see the on-ramp with cars trying to get into your lane. Instead of making room, you drive a little faster, squishing that space between you and the car ahead. You can see their lane is running out, but you think, "Not in front of me." When they squeeze in anyway, what do you do? Honk!
Isn't it interesting how we want mercy for ourselves but aren't eager to extend it to others?

That's our natural tendency without Christ. We want justice poured out to other people, but we want mercy for ourselves. Jesus calls us to something different: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."

This fifth beatitude marks a transition. The first four beatitudes describe our relationship to God – being poor in spirit, mourning over sin, demonstrating meekness, and hungering for righteousness. The last four, starting with mercy, describe our relationship with our fellow man. When we have experienced the love of God poured out in our own lives, we will express that love to someone else.

What is mercy? It is compassion in action. It's not just an emotional response to the needs of hurting humanity. It is doing something about it. In Matthew 9:35-36, we see this in Jesus: "Jesus went about all the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, healing every sickness and every disease among the people. When he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them because they were weary and scattered like sheep having no shepherd." Jesus was moved with compassion, and then He did something about it.

Mercy and grace are similar but distinct. Mercy is not getting the punishment we deserve. Grace is getting the blessing we don't deserve. In Ephesians 2:4-5, Paul reminds us that "God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ." God has shown us incredible mercy. How can we withhold it from others?

When someone does something against us, our natural tendency is to want justice served. But God calls us to be merciful, just as He has been merciful to us. Romans 5:8 tells us, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." God showed us mercy when we least deserved it. Now He calls us to do the same for others.

Reflection Questions: Where in your life do you need to extend mercy to someone else the same way God has extended mercy to you? How can you move from just feeling compassion to putting that compassion into action?

Dear God, forgive me for the times I've wanted mercy for myself but been stingy in offering it to others. Help me to remember the incredible mercy You've shown me through Jesus Christ. Give me the strength to extend that same mercy to those around me, even when it's difficult. Open my eyes to see others the way You see them. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Check out the sermon "Compassion in Action":  https://www.joshfranklin.org/media/kpnmqdv/5-compassion-in-action