Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. The merciful have received mercy and give it; the cycle of mercy is a kingdom economy. James 2:13 says mercy triumphs over judgment — the person who has truly understood God's mercy toward them cannot withhold mercy from others. The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in Matthew 18:23–35 dramatizes what it looks like when mercy received is not mercy given: the servant who cannot forgive a small debt after being forgiven an enormous one loses the mercy he received. The Beatitude is not conditional — if you show mercy, God will show you mercy — but descriptive: those who are merciful are those in whom the kingdom's economy is working, and the kingdom's economy includes mercy received and mercy given as two aspects of the same reality.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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