Things TO BE Before I Die Countdown, #8 Be more mercy-filled

I’ve always heard this little phrase in Christian circles: Grace is when God gives us what we don't deserve and mercy is when God doesn't give us what we do deserve. Let’s talk about mercy for a moment.

If I had punished my children every time they disobeyed when they were growing up, I probably would have been called a barbarian! But instead, I chose to show them mercy and often forgave them in my heart before my head agreed. That was showing them mercy. God does the same thing for us every single minute of every day. Even when we disobey him, dishonor him, and are disloyal to him, He loves and forgives—that’s real mercy.

He is the all-powerful, almighty God! He could just wipe us off the face of the earth without a moment’s notice, but he chooses not to. He molds us and forms us in His image on a daily basis. That, again, is mercy.

When I was about 19 years old, my grandmother died. This was my Dad’s mother. He had four brothers. Some discrepancies happened with land and belongings during that time that caused my father to stop speaking to one of his brothers. Bad feelings and bad decisions caused over 35 years of silence between the two.

When his brother passed away, I went to the funeral with my Dad and sister. Dad sat across the dinner table from me after the funeral and said, “I should have called him.” I felt sorry for my Dad but that decision was a two way street. Anger, frustration, and words separated these two brothers for so long that it became irreconcilable to them; if they’d only shown mercy to each other, things could have been different. Yes, it was too late for Dad to make that call.

Showing mercy to another person means you have to forgive their big and small mistakes and personality traits. You love them no matter what they do and hopefully, they love you back just because of who you are. That’s what God does and proclaims in Ephesians 2:4-7.

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (NKJV).

#8   Be more Mercy-filled.

#9   Be able to be broken for Christ.

#10  Be a sacrifice with my life, talents and gifts.