Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall be shown mercy.
Matthew 5:7
Whenever I think of this Beatitude, I remember the parable that Jesus told about a servant who owed a HUGE amount of money to the king. We’re talking 200,000 year’s worth of wages. One wonders how he got that far in debt, but that’s a discussion for another day. The king declared that the servant (we’ll call him Fred), was to be sold, along with his wife, his children, his house, and all that he possessed. Fred fell to his knees and begged for more time to repay the money. Knowing that doing so was humanly impossible, the king reached out in mercy and forgave Fred’s entire debt.
So, what did Fred do after this unbelievable gift? Go home and have a celebration with the family? Order pizza and ice cream? No! Fred went to Gary, who owed him 100 denarii (basically 100 days’ worth of wages). When Gary could not immediately cough up the coin, Fred threw him in debtor’s prison. The king found out and called Fred back into his presence. The king said, “Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant even as I had mercy on you?” The king sentenced Fred to prison until his massive debt was fully paid [Matthew 18:21-35].
I have a couple
of skeletons in my closet that are a reminder that I have received the mercy of
God’s forgiveness when I did not in any way deserve it. In turn, I am called to offer mercy to all
people who cross my path.
There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy
Scott Wesley Slider
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