Greetings Dear Reader,
When we ponder the hard path, we do not often consider
mercy. It may be that we do not think of
being merciful at all. Mercy is one of
those things that we brush off or with which we refuse to engage. In truth, it is something we should ponder
daily.
I think of mercy as a three-legged stool. The first leg is that of the mercy that I
need daily from the Father. I fail daily
to love him as I should and, in his mercy, he still allows me to live, mostly
be in comfort, and provides for my needs.
We do not consider enough the role that mercy plays in this.
If we pay attention to Jesus on the matter, we are to be
merciful as well. This is the second leg
of our stool. Mercy is the other side of
the coin of grace. It is one of the
hardest parts of the hard path. It means
that through love and grace we do not give someone what they deserve when we
have been wronged. We lay out mercy instead. We forgive and do not demand
restitution. We cancel the debt and
refuse to hold onto offense. This second
leg is one over which we all stumble.
The third leg is difficult as well. We need mercy from others. We fail and rarely understand the impact of
our failures. We do not understand why
fences cannot be mended. The fact is
that every relationship can be healed if both parties are committed to love,
grace, and mercy. Offenses and their
wounds cannot live in this environment. We
must humbly accept that we need the mercy of others and that we cannot demand
it or control it. We must live a life
that will show others love and grace and hope that they will be merciful.
The quality of mercy is that unless we deal in love and
grace always, it is a very hard path to walk.
Our pride and hurt want us to withhold mercy and feel that we deserve it
always. The hardness is that by
definition, mercy is underserved. I must
realize that I do not deserve it if I have any hope of living properly in love
and grace. I must accept that all humans
are in the same situation. None of us
deserves mercy yet all of us need to give it liberally.
The offenses we collect along the way are what make the path
so hard. The failure to forgive fully is
a stony obstacle. The lack of love and
grace causes us to carry anger and offense into the next day. We are required to leave our anger in the
past. We are obligated to forgive. Even when it is hard as diamond, we are to
walk the path of mercy, Dear Reader. I
must do so with all my heart if I have any hope to love others as Jesus loves
us. If I am making others beg for mercy, I am doing it wrong. If I withhold it, I cannot claim to love
others.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every
writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a
homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure
store.”
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Every human story is part of the great story that leads
to the Father getting everything back to Good.
Contacts for Aramis
Thorn:
#aramisthorn
Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com
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