The Beatitude Attitude, Part 4
(NRSV)Matt 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Today we are taking somewhat of a turn on our path. While the first part of the Beatitudes deals with our relationship to God, now we are called to look at our relationship to one another.
Mercy can be defined as refraining from harming or punishing offenders, enemies, persons in one’s power. God constrains us to go beyond mere sympathy for our fellow man, and calls us instead to display a supernatural compassion, which drives us to action. He demands mercy, but we are unable to give it unless He enables us to do so. What do we know about mercy?
1. Mercy is a grace gift (Rom 12:8)
2. Mercy is not natural to us
3. Mercy is bestowed upon us by God
4. We are all called to show mercy whether or not it is our spiritual gift
5. If we receive mercy, we must give it
Are you beginning to see the progression of the beatitudes? When we have the right attitude about ourselves, we can see the poverty of our spirits. When we have the right attitude toward our sin, we mourn. When we have the right attitude toward God, we become meek, and the more humble we become before the Almighty God, the more we seek after His righteousness. When we receive the righteousness of God, we begin to act like God.
Blessed are the merciful might well read, Blessed are those who give mercy over and over again, for they will receive mercy superabundantly above what they give, so that they can give again. Isn’t that wonderful?
Let’s look for a moment at the book of Lamentations in The Amplified Bible. Lamentations 3:22-24 It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not. [Mal. 3:6.]
They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness. [Isa. 33:2.]
The Lord is my portion or share, says my living being (my inner self); therefore will I hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him. [Num. 18:20.]
We are assured by the prophet Jeremiah that the Lord’s mercies are new every morning. If God can grant us new mercies each morning, then surely we can be merciful to others. Mercy requires mindfulness. Just as we need to go through each day with an awareness of what God has done and is doing in our lives, it is necessary for us to be aware of acts of mercy that we can offer to those around us.
The last beatitude we will look at today is Matt 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
How do we become pure in heart? We must allow God to change our hearts. So do we have any part in the change? Of course.
1. We must fix our eyes upon God
2. We must choose to praise Him in every circumstance
3. We must meditate on God
4. We must pursue holiness
Warren Wiersbe says “The pure in heart have nothing to hide, nothing to defend, nothing to explain. Their faces are unveiled…When you start to see God (from a pure heart) you also start to see what God sees. You begin to see yourself in the light of God’s glory.”
The pure in heart become transparent. Not only do we begin to see ourselves in a different light, we see others differently as well. The Pharisees saw the publicans as sinners, but the Jesus saw them as sick and in need of a Physician. Wiersbe goes on to say “The eyes see what the heart loves. If the heart loves God, and is single in this devotion, then the eyes will see God whether others see Him or not.”
I am always drawn to Psalm 51(NRSV) 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
David knew the dangers of allowing one’s heart to become defiled by the sins of this world. Pay attention to the language in these verses. David recognizes there is nothing in and of himself that can purify his own heart. He desperately needed God to create, restore and sustain in him all that is necessary to have a pureness of heart, and so do we.
Blessed are the pure in heart, whose hearts become so transparent that others see God in us. Blessed are they whose hearts are so transparent that they will see God first. Blessed are they.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
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Seeking Holiness 