Be Merciful to Others 怜悯人的人有福了
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. ”
Author: Rev Paul Tong
There is no one who does good and seeks God, Paul says in Romans, chapter 3. Everyone has deviated from the path of righteousness, fallen short of God`s standards. We deserve to perish but God takes mercy on us. He established the Atonement Sacrifice so that we can be saved by faith. Now, our debts are paid and our conscience is cleansed through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all.
Since we have received so great mercy from our Father, and enjoy the privilege of being His children now, we should imitate Him and show mercy to others. James 2: 13 reminds us that if we do not show mercy to others, we will be judged without mercy.
To whom should we show mercy?
Firstly, the newcomers. We have to welcome anyone who comes to the church. James, chapter 2, reminds us not to play favorites by exclusively treating those who look good well.
Secondly, the poor. Even if we can love the Lord and obey His commandments passionately, but are indifferent to the poor, we are hypocritical.
Thirdly, those who suffer. We have to stand firm in our own sufferings and have mercy on those who are in suffering as well.
The fourth, any stranger who is in desperate need. We need to learn from the good Samaritan mentioned in the parable of Jesus to show mercy to the stranger. Jesus implied in the parable that we may be too busy but we have to stop to take a look and learn what had happened to a man who was beaten half-dead and laid on the side of the road.
The fifth, brothers and sisters who have hurt us in the past. This is to imitate Joseph who was sold to Egypt by his brothers and experienced ups and downs, and hardships. Joseph didn’t take revenge but save his brothers and their families from famine when he became the prime minister of Egypt after suffering from slavery and imprisonment.
Let's pray together with the following wordings:
"Father! You are the merciful heavenly Father. Thank you for not judging us according to our transgressions. Instead, by our faith conversion, you have given us abundant grace. Sometimes, we think that we are worthy of these because we are better than others, or luckier than others. We are ignorant that it is our responsibility to show mercy to those whom we encounter so that they may know you too, the God of mercy. May they come to know you, receive your mercy and forgiveness in time to come through the showing of our mercy to them although they used to be hostile to you! May you give us a heart of mercy that we can do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with you! In the name of the Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen!"
“怜悯人的人有福了，因为他们必蒙怜悯.”
文/董明汉牧师
世界上没有一个义人。没有真正明白和寻求上帝的人。每一个人都偏离正路，一同走向败坏和灭亡。然而，上帝设立赎罪祭，让人能够藉着耶稣，蒙受上帝的怜悯。先前所犯的一切罪，可以一笔勾销。所以，我们没有什么好夸口的。
我们既然蒙受上帝这么大的怜悯，成了天父的儿女，从此之后，就应该学习祂，对人也存怜悯之心。雅各书，第2章，第13节提醒我们：如果我们不去怜悯别人，我们自己就要接受无怜悯的审判。
我们要向谁怜恤呢?
第一，我们要怜恤任何一个来到教会的人。雅各书第2章，教导我们说，只要有人来到教会，我们不要因为他的外貌，衣着，和举止，不欢迎他，或排挤他。
第二，我们要怜恤穷人。就算我们能热心爱主，遵守诫命，却是对穷人无动于衷，我们的好行为，并没有一丝对穷人的怜悯。是有很大的问题。
第三，我们要怜恤受苦的人。我们不仅要忍受自己的苦难，也要怜悯、帮助那些处于苦难中的人。
第四，我们要怜恤有需要的陌生人。就如耶稣比喻中提到的一名好撒玛利亚人，看到一个被打得半死、躺在路边的人。就动了怜悯之心，停下来帮助这位素不相识的陌生人。
第五，我们要怜恤曾经伤害过我们的人。约瑟被兄长们卖到埃及，经历了许多的风风雨雨，艰辛坎坷。终于约瑟从奴仆和犯人的身份，变成埃及的宰相。当局势戏剧性的转变，哥哥们因为饥荒，来到埃及寻找食物。约瑟不计旧账，既往不咎，怜恤了哥哥们。拯救了他们全家。
让我们一起祷告：“天父啊！你是个怜悯人的天父。谢谢你没有按照我们的过犯，待我们。反而，因我们的归信，赐给我们许多的恩典。我们有时候，会把自己的得救，看成自己比别人好，或自己比别人幸运。我们没有想到，你对我们的怜恤，其实是要我们去怜恤他人。好叫众人从我们的身上，认识你，知道你的美善。让他们也能像我们一样，虽然过去与神敌对，如今开始认识你，将来也会蒙你的怜恤和宽恕。愿你给我们一颗怜恤人的心。好叫我们都能行公义，好怜悯，存谦卑的心与你同行。奉主耶稣的名祷告。阿们！”