The first four Beatitudes primarily focus on attitudes, with implied action as a secondary result. The fifth Beatitude refers to the happiness of those who act, specifically those who show mercy towards others.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Matthew 5.7).
Once again, there are hints of this Beatitude in the Old Testament.
Those who despise their neighbors are sinners,
but happy are those who are kind to the poor. (Proverbs 14.21)
When Jesus came into conflict with religious authorities, He reminded them that God’s standard was to show mercy.
“Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Matthew 9.13 and see also 12.7).
Christians in 2024 would do well to think seriously about Jesus’s comments to the scribes and Pharisees of His day.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others.
“You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!” (Matthew 23.23-24).
We live in a time when much of our public discourse involves pointing fingers at one side or another. Instead of pointing fingers of criticism, Jesus advocates action.
We do well to be merciful, and the Lord promises us that he will give us mercy in return.
The Pure in Heart
I have recently been reading the writings of Thomas Kelley, a Quaker minister from years gone by.
He writes, “You and I are not full selves until we are in God’s presence and He is visibly in us, alive, energizing, glorifying, and making life miraculous.”
Kelly asks, “Is God your passion? Do you long for Him and rejoice in Him, finding life meaningful only to the degree you are in His presence and He is in your life? Do you keep close to the divine center and the inner principle, counting all else as loss?”
This is the motivation behind the Beatitude, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5.8).
If the payoff of being pure in heart is the ability to live close to our loving God, what exactly does it mean to be pure in heart?
Henry Blackaby said it well: “You can’t go where Jesus is and stay where you are.” Whatever is a part of our inner self that prevents us from experiencing the presence of God must be removed.
Soren Kierkegaard wrote that “purity of heart is to will one thing.” Kierkegaard is consistent with the message of James concerning being double-minded.
For the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord (James 1.7-8).
The double-minded person holds God as the plan A of their life. However, if God doesn’t give them what they want, they have a plan B, which resorts to their own skills, abilities, and ideas.
Jesus told a parable about a pearl merchant who, when he found a pearl of great value, sold everything that he had to buy it (Matthew 13.45-46).
What Thomas Kelly and Henry Blackaby have in common is that they met the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in a personal way. There was nothing in their hearts that was worth more than living with Him; therefore, they fiercely sought after purity of heart.
I suggest that we do well to find the Lord in a way that He is so rich to us that we will want nothing more than a relationship with Him, always making Him the plan A of our lives.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling YouTube channel.
Real Voices 