Why Mercy Matters

Typically, my wife Sara does not have favourites. She does not have a favourite colour, name or place. She likes too many things for too many reasons to have one favourite.

Shockingly, though, she does have a favourite mug. It was made by a Saskatchewan potter. In fact, Sara met this woman at an art show and told her how much she liked her work and the woman gave her this mug for free! It was beautiful and Sara treasured it.

Last Friday night, Sara made some tea for me and, for some reason, she put it in her special mug. I was reading at the time, so I took a sip and put the mug back on the shelf. Then I took another sip and put the mug on the shelf. I took another sip and I did not quite get it back on the shelf. As soon as I let go, the mug tipped over. I tried to grab it, but it was too late. Sara’s favourite mug, one of the only possessions that she really cares about, crashed to the floor and broke in three huge pieces.

I waited. I braced myself. Yet, to my surprise, there was no speech and no anger. Nothing! All she said was, “You are more important than some mug!” She had every right to yell, scream and be upset, but she chose to be merciful.

Everyone likes justice when they are right, but we love mercy when we need it.

Ephesians 2:4 describes God as being “Rich in mercy”. Heavenly wisdom is, “full of mercy” (James 3:17). 1 Peter 1:3 tells us that God offers new life because of his great mercy.

To be clear, I am not encouraging you to be lazy, sloppy or careless about your spiritual life. All I am saying is that if we are ever going to be anything like God and represent him well, mercy must be a large part of our makeup.

Mercy is a powerful tool for changing the situations that we are in and making them better.

Mercy matters.

Comments

The Art of Noticing.... Seeing what we need to see and what we miss when we don't

What we focus on in life matters. Here are some scriptural reminders that will help us see correctly. https://youtu.be/Rn76tV0ZH8s

Consider This.... Which Way Are You Leaning?

When Ben Patterson agreed to join three friends climbing Mount Lyell, the highest point in Yosemite National Park, he did not realize what he was signing up for. Early in the day, it became clear that he was completely unprepared for the task. In an effort to keep up with his more experienced friends, Ben took a shortcut. It did not occur to him that there might be a reason the others had not selected this route, but he soon found out why. Ben became stuck on the glacier. He could not move up, down or sideways and one wrong move would send him sliding down a forty-five-degree slope to the valley floor miles below. That is when one of his friends came to the rescue. His buddy leaned over the edge and carved some footholds in the ice. He told Ben to step to the first foothold and immediately swing his other foot to the second, then his buddy would pull him to safety. Lastly, his friend gave him one more piece of advice....

Consider This: The Biggest Problem Is Not Out There!

In a time when everyone has a vocal opinion on everything and judgment is everywhere, maybe we need to reconsider the words of Jesus. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:3-5). Here are two observations to consider. First, when we look for what others are doing wrong, we are starting in the wrong place. “Take the log out of your eye” is the first move. Start with yourself! It is easy to judge others and make excuses for ourselves. Yet, that is completely backwards! If we are honest, we never get past making ourselves better. There is always more to do. This, then, leaves very little time to point out...

Consider this

Subscribe

Get new posts by email:

Search This Blog