Matthew 5:7 – God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. (NLT)

When my wife yelled, "Come here!" I knew something was wrong.

I was napping in my recliner on a Sunday afternoon when she called for help. Since I was only twenty feet from her, I asked, "Can't you just tell me what you want?"

But knowing who butters my bread, I went. She stared at a stack of Christmas decorations we had recently purchased at an estate auction and planned to resell. "Do you see these little things on this bag? Are they spider eggs?" I told her, "I suppose so, but if I sprayed them, they would be covered in poison."

"I'll just spray them with air freshener," she said. Soon, I heard another plea for help. When she sprayed, what looked like eggs immediately transformed into baby spiders. I quickly retrieved the hand-held vacuum, sucked them up, and emptied the contents in the yard. We were trying to show mercy to the spiders — and preserve the decorations — but it wasn't easy. All we could imagine was these critters crawling on us at night and biting us.

According to Jesus, we'll be happy when we show mercy to others, and God will bless us in return. He didn't say it would be easy, just that we'd be happy. Showing mercy to the spiders was challenging. Exterminating them would have been much easier. Showing mercy to spiders might seem insignificant — and a bit crazy — but the principle remains. It isn't easy to show mercy to some people or in some circumstances.

We can show mercy in numerous ways. While we must be careful of our motives when we demonstrate mercy to others, our obligation remains — and God gives us the ability to do it.

When we think of the mercy that God has shown by allowing His Son to die for humanity's sins and the many ways that He has shown us mercy when we didn't deserve it, we can't find excuses for not showing mercy to others — regardless of who they are or what they've done.

When you're tempted to withhold mercy for what might appear a good reason, remember God's mercy.

Prayer: Father, we praise You for the mercy that flows our way daily. Enable us to channel it to others. Amen.

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About the author:

Martin Wiles <mandmwiles@gmail.com>
Greenwood, South Carolina, USA
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