Be merciful!

"Jesus said to his disciples, 'Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.'"

Luke 6:36

 

Someone I read compared this instruction to "So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)  Being merciful is as difficult as being perfect, don't you think?  We are just not wired to be merciful.  We have a sense of fairness that dictates people should get what they deserve, and, if they do something really bad, it's not mercy.  And that is where God's ways are so different than our ways (Thank God!) In today's Reflection in Give Us This Day, Lewis B Smedes says, "Forgiving is love's toughest work, and love's biggest risk." (from "Forgive and Forget: Healing the Hurts We Don't Deserve") Forgiving is very tough work, and we can really only rely on God for help in our forgiving.  But our desire to forgive is all God needs to take our desire and run with it. God can take our desire to forgive and turn it into real forgiveness.  I will leave you with a wee bit o' Irish wisdom:  "God is good, but never dance in a small boat."  You may, however dance anywhere else!  Blessings on your St. Patrick's Day! Love, heidi