This poem is based on The Beatitudes in Matthew 5:7, ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.’
INTRO: Mercy reminds me of the Japanese art of Kintsugi, meaning “golden joinery,’ which treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to discard or throw away. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. When we seek mercy from God or a person we have wronged. We pay mercy forward by extending compassion or forgiveness to someone who does not deserve it. Mercy is also a desire to relieve the suffering of someone less fortunate than ourselves.
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To extend mercy is to act compassionately to those in distress or hurting, especially when it is within one’s power to punish or harm them. The word mercy means “price paid.” Show mercy to those who have hurt you, to those who have offended you, toward those who are less fortunate than yourself. Beverley Joy
I love this Feature image I found that combines Kintsugi and a hand with which to show mercy as an action we take. We must do something, act, for someone other than ourselves.
The setting: The Romans did not consider mercy as a virtue. They honoured and respected courage, personal power, and totalitarianism. Mercy was considered a weakness of character. Successful Romans would have felt ashamed to be called merciful.
PODCAST – Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy
God proved His love, grace, and justice
Through Jesus dying on the cross
God’s mercy saves and redeems us
Not because of what we have done.
God is rich in mercy and forgiveness
They overflow from His deep love
Which He has for all of us.
The Lord hears our plea for mercy
To which He extends forgiveness
But God’s judgment has no mercy
For those who show no mercy.
Guilty of our sin, we crave mercy
We seek mercy for ourselves
For the wrong deeds we’ve done to others
And we show mercy to love our neighbours.
A believer in God shows mercy
Through kindness, forgiveness, and gentleness
Key elements of God’s character
As we live out His love to others.
Mercy does not say:
“I will only care for those
Who will return care to me”?
“I’ll pay you back, not make amends
It’s ‘my right’ to take revenge.”
Cruelty stems from our self-centredness
That does not value showing mercy
That marches to the anthem cry
‘I live for me, myself and I.’
Jesus showed mercy not expecting a reward
To criminals, the sick, the disabled and poor
The rif raf, the outcasts, the lonely and sad,
Those in society who cannot give back.
The value of mercy does not make you rich
It’s an investment in humanity
It’s given freely to those who are seeker
Attracting abundant returns to the sender.
Mercy is more than a whiff of pity
It is not reluctant to stop and help
It’s driven by empathy for the victim
To understand and get inside their mind.
God gives mercy for our misery,
Which is a result of our sin
God’s grace offers pardon for our sin
And mercy, relief from God’s punishment.
Grace comes first, when we forgive
Mercy comes second, lifting the punishment
Without mercy, mankind is hostile and selfish
Angry and lacking tenderness.
What Jesus taught challenges our thinking
Pray for your enemies, continue forgiving
Do not retaliate or show revenge
Hold no grudges nor slander others.
Share God’s good news with our enemies
Show mercy by helping meet their needs
Pray for those we hate
Pardon their evil ways.
When Jesus was insulted, he did not insult
When he was beaten, he did not fight back
But entrusted Himself to God, the final judge
Who will judge without mercy those without love?
To show mercy does not earn mercy in return
God’s mercy gives us what we don’t deserve
Pardon and forgiveness through death on a cross
Of His only son Jesus, why? Because God first loved us.
God came down and lived in human skin
Jesus became the merciful High Priest
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
His mercies never come to an end.
Those who cry out to God for mercy
Become givers of mercy themselves
As we give mercy God pours out more
And we sing in praise the mercy of our Lord.
Beverley Joy © 2022 Simply Story Poetry All rights reserved.
Read or listen to other poems in this series: The Beatitudes of Jesus – An Introduction, Blessed Are The Poor In Spirit?, Blessed Are Those Who Mourn? Blessed Are The Meek? Blessed are Those who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness? Blessed are the Merciful? Blessed are the Pure?
References: Chuck Swindoll – Insight , John MacArthur – Grace To You, Alistair Begg – Truth For Life
Some of the Bible references: Psalm 89:1-2, Titus 3:5, Eph 2:4, James 2:13, Heb 2:17, 1 Peter 1:3
Matthew 5:1-12 The Zondervan NASB Study Bible copyright © 1999 Zondervan
Article on Mercy https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/merciful-receive-mercy-ms-jemi-su
Photo by SIMON LEE on Unsplash
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