This week as we continue in our series on “The Beatitudes”, we have the opportunity to see what comes to us as a result of growing in our walk with God. The first four “Beatitudes” focus on our growth in Christ as He highlights the conditions of our heart. The next four focus on the fruit that our life will yield as we continually grow in the Lord.

As Jesus taught His followers, he often had to use an example or story to illustrate what the truth he was trying to teach. On one occasion, He told them of a servant who owed a king ten thousand bags of gold. When the man was brought before the king and found unable to pay, the king ordered that he and his family and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. Upon hearing this, the man fell to his knees and begged the king for mercy. Seeing the man’s anguish, the king did indeed show mercy, for he then, instead, pardoned the man’s debt and let him go free!  As the man left the king’s palace, no longer feeling the weight of his debt, he ran into a fellow servant who owed him one hundred silver coins: a possible tenth of his own pardoned debt. However, the mercy that had just been shown to him was long forgotten as he grabbed the man by the collar and demanded that he pay back what he owed him! In familiar fashion, the fellow servant fell to his knees and begged for mercy, but the man would show him none. Instead, he had the fellow servant thrown in prison until he could pay his debt. The man’s actions were reported to the king, and the mercy that had previously been granted, was now rescinded, and left as a lesson for all.²

When we are spiritually growing in our relationship with Christ, mercy comes easy when we see others’ suffering. We are able to see through Jesus’ eyes and in turn express the love the Jesus would show to those in need of mercy. Yet, when we are walking in our own righteousness, the troubles of others have no effect on us, and instead of mercy, we act vengeful. The Lord said “...Vengeance is mine, I will repay...” (Romans 12:19) How quickly we forget the unsurpassable mercy that was shown to us when Christ died for our sins. Mercy is not only an admirable trait, but it is also a gift, granted by God, that we can bestow upon others.

Suggested Prayer:

Dear Lord, you are a loving and merciful Father, stretching your arms out to grant forgiveness to those who ask it of you. Thank you for taking my sin upon the cross and granting me mercy and salvation even though I was undeserving. Allow me to see others with your eyes of mercy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

1. Matthew 5:7.

2. Matthew 18:21-35.

Today’s Encounter was written by: Veronica B.