 If we want to thrive and not just survive in ministry, we must understand what being merciful to those who mistreat us is and what it is not.
Being merciful is relinquishing your right to retaliation or revenge. Being merciful is not being silent when sin is sin. Being merciful is being kind when communicating the correction of that sin. Being merciful is not being a doormat and enabling that sin. Being merciful is being kind to the unthankful and the evil. Being merciful is not being manipulated by the unthankful and the evil. Being merciful is the active portion of being meek (not being touchy or retaliatory). Being merciful is not being touchy or retaliatory but actively being kind to your enemies—especially to enemies as the result of doing the right thing in ministry. “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.“ –Luke 6:35-36
Sometimes, in the beautiful worthy difficulty of ministry, you will make enemies. Even as a broken, humble, and others-centered servant endeavoring to do the right thing, others will actively oppose you with hostility.
Which is why mercy is a core component of ministry. Being kind, even and especially to your enemies, is essential. Jesus gives us a whole new way to be merciful to enemies who would mistreat us. “Blessed are the merciful,” Jesus said, “for they shall obtain mercy.” Watch our study of Matthew 5:7 as we consider the importance of mercy in ministry.  “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.” – Matthew 5:6 As we follow Jesus, our metric for making decisions changes. It changes from self-focused to selflessness. We no longer consider whether something benefits us personally or whether or not something advances our agenda, but rather simply whether or not it is the right thing to do. We hunger and thirst for this—whether or not a decision is right. We no longer take into account whether or not a decision personally benefits or harms us—because sometimes doing the right thing will cost us. Our whole metric for making decisions has radically changed! For a disciple of Jesus who continues to count the cost of discipleship, this isn’t a work of the human will. It is a work of the Holy Spirit. Only by the Spirit’s power can we have the attitudes Jesus defines in the Sermon on the Mount.
From the mountain, Jesus delivered a sermon to His disciples. He taught them what their attitudes must be like if they were to continue to be His disciples. He wanted to give them (and us) as much disclosure as possible to know what ministry would be like.
Through this sermon, Jesus desired to communicate the beautiful and worthy difficulty of bringing glory to God through the selfless service of others. However, the attitudes necessary for such a service cannot come from our strength. It is only a work of the Holy Spirit, and not of the human will. And this is true with the fourth beatitude, as the Holy Spirit draws those who continue to follow Jesus into an even deeper level of humility. Watch our study of Matthew 5:6 as we consider what it means to hunger and thirst for righteousness. |
From Pastor Dom...When I first gave my life to Jesus, there were friends in my life who helped me to grow in my understanding of God, through His word, and for those friends Archives
May 2025
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