7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Matthew 5
I wrestle with this teaching. Not that I don’t agree with it or aspire to live it. I wrestle with the weight of what Jesus says in this teaching. He is making the case that one can only truly understand and embrace the mercy that they receive when they extend mercy to others in their daily lives.
Look at how Jesus condemns the unforgiving servant in one of his parables (Matthew 18:21-35).
Again, I believe this is the way to live. Yet, to live it. That is the challenge and stumbling block.
It can feel so unnatural to show mercy and forgiveness at times. At the same time if we withhold our forgiveness we end up being the one bound in the chains of the moment that has passed while the offender has moved on. In fact, some of the worst offenders will deny that anything every happened and will not devote another thought to what happened between you and them.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
It is the merciful that knows they are held, valued, and loved more than anything that can happen to them and the words that are said about them. It is the merciful is who is secure in who they are for they know whose they are; a beloved child of God.
My prayer is that we may know and practice the way of mercy; the way of our beloved God.
Rev. Shawn J. Smith 
“Do justice, LOVE MERCY, and walk humbly with thy God” was my Daddy’s motto; he often quoted it in full to me as though giving me instructions for life.