1012AFC031910
Happy Aloha Friday, Beloved!
In the past few weeks we have spoken of two kinds of mercy. The first is the kind of Mercy that comes from God, a blessing that is an act of Divine favor or compassion. We read that God’s Mercy is perfect because God’s integrity and justice are perfect. So too is God’s love and compassion perfect. Perfect integrity, justice, love, and compassion make possible perfect mercy. And the goodness of God makes Mercy a gift to us.
The second kind of mercy about which we have read is the mercy we share with one another. It is the kind of mercy that is the compassionate treatment of those in distress such as works of mercy among the poor, the oppressed, the orphaned or widowed, the abandoned or marginalized, or simply those whom we love because we love God and His gift of mercy.
God’s gift of mercy is so abundant that sometimes we forget it is a gift He has chosen to bestow on us. It is such a generous gift that it is difficult to perceive its boundaries. We are so immersed in, filled up by, and surrounded with God’s Mercy that we may sometimes feel we are entitled to it. God “owes” us His infinite mercy. As that sense of entitlement grows, so too our sense of the blessing of the gift of Mercy decreases. We begin to assume that no matter what we do, God’s Mercy will cover it. True? Yes, but I think perhaps we overlook something. Mercy is a gift. And that brings us to some difficult considerations.
If we believe we are entitled to mercy, we believe we have a right to the benefits specified by God for those who believe in Him who God sent. Some have fashioned this into the belief that we are deserving of to certain privileges such as forgiveness for our sins. We know that the Bible tells us repeatedly that God is merciful, patient, and supremely kind. For example in the Psalms we read (Ps 103:8) “Merciful and gracious is the LORD, slow to anger, abounding in kindness.” So, doesn’t that mean God will eventually be merciful with each of us? Let’s look at some other expressions of God’s mercy and His expectations for us to be merciful.
In the Gospel of Matthew we read: (Mt 5:7) “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Could it be then that God’s gift of mercy is associated with us being merciful in return? In the Gospel of Luke we read, (Luke 6:36) “Be merciful, just as (also) your Father is merciful.” Later in Luke we find this: (Luke 18:13) “But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'”
Do we have to ask God for Mercy? Isn’t it a universal gift? Look at Exodus 33:19: 19 He [God] answered, “I will make all my beauty pass before you [Moses], and in your presence I will pronounce my name, ‘LORD’; I who show favors to whom I will, I who grant mercy to whom I will.” This verse is quoted by Paul in his letter to the Romans: (Romans 9:14-16) “14 What then are we to say? Is there injustice on the part of God? Of course not! 15 For he says to Moses: “I will show mercy to whom I will, I will take pity on whom I will.” 16 So it depends not upon a person’s will or exertion, but upon God, who shows mercy.
Mercy is a gift, but a mysterious gift. Gifts are not the same as rights. We do not have a right to mercy. We do not have a right to salvation. We do not have a right to forgiveness. We are not entitled to any of this. But we often act as if all of this is our entitlement, our right, and our possession. In The World, and overblown sense of entitlement is the cause of much anguish and suffering. Some feel they are entitled to terrorize, maim, and kill their neighbors because God allows – even commands it. Others feel they are entitled to do whatever they want to do because God’s Mercy extends to everyone. In that state of being, they can do good things, they can do evil things, and they can expect that God will reward the good and excuse the evil. He will, but at a price.
The Price was Jesus. All the Mercy in the world is a gift from and through Jesus. Every good gift from above is a gift from and through Jesus. Every moment, every instance, every act of mercy is a gift from and through Jesus. That is how we fulfill the command, “Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.” Even if some who show mercy believe it is derived from and within them, the truth is that their capacity to show mercy is a gift from and through Jesus.
Beloved, be the gift. Be merciful. Ask for Mercy by being merciful for “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
I want to share with you an example of mercy show by some citizens of Kaua`i. I will refer to them ask Kaua`i Volunteers to Haiti – KVH. ( If you use Facebook, please find, and friend, Diane Pierce)This is a group of people including doctors, nurses, and lay people who have gone to Haiti to help the victims of the horrendous earthquake there. They have sent back to us photos and stories of some of the people they have met, the actions they are taking to assist the wounded – especially the children. They ask for our prayers for their work and most especially for the people in Haiti who are still suffering greatly. For all of those people, life is not a short blurb on the national news, or a brief story on page 6 of the newspaper. It is an immense reality of suffering, of hunger, and loss everything from family and home to dignity and life. Pray for the children especially for their suffering is magnified by their innocence. Two children have been especially blessed by the mercy shown through the KVH. Daniel and Patterson have suffered greatly, but the love shown through the KVH has given them hope and healing. Be merciful, Beloved. Pray for these children, for those who are helping the, and for those of us who really can do more to help everyone who is suffering from the effects of disasters whether cause by earthly nature or human nature. Pray for the PEOPLE – including you – who have received the gift of Mercy and ask for the faith, the discernment, the patience and perseverance, and especially the humility to be merciful in turn.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved…
chick
Today’s Bible verse is 1 Samuel 16:7
(New International Version) 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
(King James Version) 7But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
Beloved, when God looks at your heart, will he see there your acts of mercy?
Lenten Series on Mercy
Follow this series on Corporal Acts of Mercy
1012AFC031910
Happy Aloha Friday, Beloved!
In the past few weeks we have spoken of two kinds of mercy. The first is the kind of Mercy that comes from God, a blessing that is an act of Divine favor or compassion. We read that God’s Mercy is perfect because God’s integrity and justice are perfect. So too is God’s love and compassion perfect. Perfect integrity, justice, love, and compassion make possible perfect mercy. And the goodness of God makes Mercy a gift to us.
The second kind of mercy about which we have read is the mercy we share with one another. It is the kind of mercy that is the compassionate treatment of those in distress such as works of mercy among the poor, the oppressed, the orphaned or widowed, the abandoned or marginalized, or simply those whom we love because we love God and His gift of mercy.
God’s gift of mercy is so abundant that sometimes we forget it is a gift He has chosen to bestow on us. It is such a generous gift that it is difficult to perceive its boundaries. We are so immersed in, filled up by, and surrounded with God’s Mercy that we may sometimes feel we are entitled to it. God “owes” us His infinite mercy. As that sense of entitlement grows, so too our sense of the blessing of the gift of Mercy decreases. We begin to assume that no matter what we do, God’s Mercy will cover it. True? Yes, but I think perhaps we overlook something. Mercy is a gift. And that brings us to some difficult considerations.
If we believe we are entitled to mercy, we believe we have a right to the benefits specified by God for those who believe in Him who God sent. Some have fashioned this into the belief that we are deserving of to certain privileges such as forgiveness for our sins. We know that the Bible tells us repeatedly that God is merciful, patient, and supremely kind. For example in the Psalms we read (Ps 103:8) “Merciful and gracious is the LORD, slow to anger, abounding in kindness.” So, doesn’t that mean God will eventually be merciful with each of us? Let’s look at some other expressions of God’s mercy and His expectations for us to be merciful.
In the Gospel of Matthew we read: (Mt 5:7) “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Could it be then that God’s gift of mercy is associated with us being merciful in return? In the Gospel of Luke we read, (Luke 6:36) “Be merciful, just as (also) your Father is merciful.” Later in Luke we find this: (Luke 18:13) “But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'”
Do we have to ask God for Mercy? Isn’t it a universal gift? Look at Exodus 33:19: 19 He [God] answered, “I will make all my beauty pass before you [Moses], and in your presence I will pronounce my name, ‘LORD’; I who show favors to whom I will, I who grant mercy to whom I will.” This verse is quoted by Paul in his letter to the Romans: (Romans 9:14-16) “14 What then are we to say? Is there injustice on the part of God? Of course not! 15 For he says to Moses: “I will show mercy to whom I will, I will take pity on whom I will.” 16 So it depends not upon a person’s will or exertion, but upon God, who shows mercy.
Mercy is a gift, but a mysterious gift. Gifts are not the same as rights. We do not have a right to mercy. We do not have a right to salvation. We do not have a right to forgiveness. We are not entitled to any of this. But we often act as if all of this is our entitlement, our right, and our possession. In The World, and overblown sense of entitlement is the cause of much anguish and suffering. Some feel they are entitled to terrorize, maim, and kill their neighbors because God allows – even commands it. Others feel they are entitled to do whatever they want to do because God’s Mercy extends to everyone. In that state of being, they can do good things, they can do evil things, and they can expect that God will reward the good and excuse the evil. He will, but at a price.
The Price was Jesus. All the Mercy in the world is a gift from and through Jesus. Every good gift from above is a gift from and through Jesus. Every moment, every instance, every act of mercy is a gift from and through Jesus. That is how we fulfill the command, “Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.” Even if some who show mercy believe it is derived from and within them, the truth is that their capacity to show mercy is a gift from and through Jesus.
Beloved, be the gift. Be merciful. Ask for Mercy by being merciful for “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
I want to share with you an example of mercy show by some citizens of Kaua`i. I will refer to them ask Kaua`i Volunteers to Haiti – KVH. ( If you use Facebook, please find, and friend, Diane Pierce)This is a group of people including doctors, nurses, and lay people who have gone to Haiti to help the victims of the horrendous earthquake there. They have sent back to us photos and stories of some of the people they have met, the actions they are taking to assist the wounded – especially the children. They ask for our prayers for their work and most especially for the people in Haiti who are still suffering greatly. For all of those people, life is not a short blurb on the national news, or a brief story on page 6 of the newspaper. It is an immense reality of suffering, of hunger, and loss everything from family and home to dignity and life. Pray for the children especially for their suffering is magnified by their innocence. Two children have been especially blessed by the mercy shown through the KVH. Daniel and Patterson have suffered greatly, but the love shown through the KVH has given them hope and healing. Be merciful, Beloved. Pray for these children, for those who are helping the, and for those of us who really can do more to help everyone who is suffering from the effects of disasters whether cause by earthly nature or human nature. Pray for the PEOPLE – including you – who have received the gift of Mercy and ask for the faith, the discernment, the patience and perseverance, and especially the humility to be merciful in turn.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved…
chick
Today’s Bible verse is 1 Samuel 16:7
(New International Version) 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
(King James Version) 7But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
Beloved, when God looks at your heart, will he see there your acts of mercy?
Lenten Series on Mercy
Follow this series on Corporal Acts of Mercy
