"You must continue to build your lives on the foundation of your holy faith. And continue to pray as you are guided by the Holy Spirit. Live in such a way that God's love can bless you as you wait for the eternal life that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is going to give you. Show mercy to those whose faith is wavering." Jude 1:20-22
Question: How many times a day do we need to show mercy toward others? Maybe I need to ask this question a different way: How many times do people upset you during the course of any day?
If we’re brutally honest with ourselves on this matter, we probably say that it happens at least once a day.
If you drive daily, which most people do, then there is never a shortage of times when some driver decides to drive inappropriately around you and raise your anger. The bigger the area you live, the more traffic and the greater the potential for this happening.
How about at work? How often has a co-worker done something that really "ticked" you off?
How about within your family? And rift between you and your spouse? How about you and your kids?
And let’s not even talk about the daily news stories we’re bombarded with. I’m sure you can’t help but be incensed with some of the terrible actions people take toward others.
This leads me back to the original question: How many times a day do we need to show mercy toward others? We could probably make this whole matter simpler by just applying this one principle…one that comes straight from the heart of our Heavenly Father, our Master Maker who created us in His own image. His Will for us is that we show mercy every time we start to feel irate with another. As our scripture for today states, "Show mercy to those whose faith is wavering".
This perpetuating spirit of forgiveness emulates the mercy and grace that our Father exercises toward us, His Children. How many times do you anger God by the way you think, speak, or act? The answer to that is simple: you anger Him every time you sin. Now try and count the number of times you do that on a daily basis. It’s not pretty.
Yet, His love is so deep for us that He forgives us and seeks to help us become more like Him. In order for that to happen, we need to stay strong in our faith and embrace His Word and Will for us at all times. I think we find that we fail most often when we are living farthest from the Father. Away from His arms, we are subject to Satan’s attacks and victimized by our sinful nature. Conversely, in His presence we find ourselves in a place where sin does not exist. That’s the place we need to seek to be always but we are prone to failure. We need to remember that others fail likewise. And just as the Father loves and forgives, so should we.
If all this weren’t incredible enough, we can look to Jesus Christ as the ultimate example of mercy and forgiveness. The absolute depth of our Father’s mercy for us is found at the Cross where He offered His only Son as a sin sacrifice for all of us. This God, who has infinite power to destroy anything and everything evil and sin-soaked, decided instead to save us through giving up His Son.
He further demonstrated true mercy and forgiveness through the words of His Son on the Cross. You may remember the powerful call of reconciliation and intercession on the Cross where Jesus was suffering and dying…placed there by all who have sinned. Remember His Words…"Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." There’s your yardstick for forgiveness. Like everything else, it’s all about Jesus.
Final questions: If Jesus could forgive us after we caused Him to suffer and die on the Cross, is there any instance where we cannot forgive another? If God’s mercy, grace and love continue to flow to us despite the sinners we are today, shouldn’t we reflect that same mercy, grace and love to one another? Pray hard on this and seek the Spirit’s guidance. You’ll be led to where the Father and Jesus reside…to the place of forgiveness and reconciliation. Thanks be to God.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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