Becoming Like Him

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

Matthew 5:7

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is about becoming like him. Disciples are learners, students of their teachers. They don’t just learn what their teachers know; they are influenced to become who their teachers are in character and manner. That’s why Jesus calls us not just to know and agree to the facts of the gospel, but to be formed and shaped by the gospel.

Naturally, we are not like God. We are self-centered and self-serving. We endlessly pursue our own pleasure and happiness. We want what we want when we want it how we want it and we don’t care what it costs to have it. That’s why we desperately need to learn a new way, to become new people, to become like Jesus.

As we learn the way of Christ, Jesus teaches us to put our learning to the test, to make sure we are becoming his disciples and not someone else’s. He says that if we are becoming like him, the characteristics of God will start showing up in our lives, characteristics like humility, holiness, meekness, and mercy. Mercy is the kindness and compassion one shows to another, particularly of the kind expressed by a parent to a child. Mercy is one of the fundamental attributes of God. In fact, when Moses taught the children of Israel about the character of God, he told them the first thing God is is merciful. If mercy is at the leading edge of God’s person and work, then as his followers we know we are becoming like God when responding to others with mercy becomes our default.

Father, I am not naturally merciful, but I am following your Son, for whose sake you have shown mercy to me. Change me. Make me merciful to others, even and especially when they do not deserve it.