Have Mercy....
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Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:36
Oh boy, oh boy. When God gets a hold of your heart, He means it.
He has been showing me scripture after scripture, story after story on His Mercy.
Sometimes it is hard to wrap our human minds around. Humans seek justice. We can be very black and white.
God seeks justice. In His own perfect way. He says this in Isaiah 55:9, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
His justice comes wrapped up in a soft down blanket of Mercy. Every single time
We love this blanket of Mercy when we are the one's receiving it. However, often we struggle when we see mercy given to someone who does not seem to deserve it. Know what I mean?
My marriage is so important to me. I think it is the number one thing I pray for each day. Of course, prayers for my children are right on up there neck and neck.
However, when my marriage is out of whack, it affects the whole family unit. The imbalance slides right on down to my kids. Shoot.
The thing about marriage is that it requires a LOT of mercy. I mean a LOT.
It's easy to show mercy to our children. They share our genes. They are a part of us. Even if adopted, they are OURS. Forever.
We don't see our husbands the same way, do we?
We seek justice in our marriage. An eye for an eye kind of thing.
If I have heard it once, I have heard it a million times..."marriage is 50/50"
Says who?
God says in Mark 10:8, and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
That looks like a whole to me. 100%. Not split down the middle.
Why is mercy so hard in our marriages?
I think it's because we are law craving, justice seeking people.
Not that this is a bad thing, but Jesus came to mess with all that law stuff. The same law that we are reading about in the book of Numbers. The rules, regulations, ordinances. All of the things that help us feel "fair", and "safe". Jesus ripped apart all of this law by His death on the Cross.
When Jesus showed us His Mercy for us by dying for us, our relationship status changed with God. We were suddenly covered in an ocean of Mercy. Completely undeserving. That's Mercy for you, my friends.
So, back to marriage.
Sometimes we forget that me must also show mercy to others. Even and especially our husbands. We get all black and white and justice seeking, and forget that we are alive because of God's Mercy.
What would happen in our marriages if we practiced mercy day in and day out?
When hour husbands are late coming home, without calling.
When our husbands spend too much money on that gun he has been eyeing.
When our husbands come home, plop down and turn on ESPN before even uttering a hello to us.
I am not saying our husbands always deserve our mercy, but we sure don't deserve God's mercy either.
This verse just rocks my world in the mercy department. Listen to this:
Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:12-13
Mercy triumphs over judgement. Lets chew on that today.
drowning in His Mercy,
jill
New to SHINE? Start here.
Connect with us on Facebook.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:36
Oh boy, oh boy. When God gets a hold of your heart, He means it.
He has been showing me scripture after scripture, story after story on His Mercy.
Sometimes it is hard to wrap our human minds around. Humans seek justice. We can be very black and white.
God seeks justice. In His own perfect way. He says this in Isaiah 55:9, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
His justice comes wrapped up in a soft down blanket of Mercy. Every single time
We love this blanket of Mercy when we are the one's receiving it. However, often we struggle when we see mercy given to someone who does not seem to deserve it. Know what I mean?
My marriage is so important to me. I think it is the number one thing I pray for each day. Of course, prayers for my children are right on up there neck and neck.
However, when my marriage is out of whack, it affects the whole family unit. The imbalance slides right on down to my kids. Shoot.
The thing about marriage is that it requires a LOT of mercy. I mean a LOT.
It's easy to show mercy to our children. They share our genes. They are a part of us. Even if adopted, they are OURS. Forever.
We don't see our husbands the same way, do we?
We seek justice in our marriage. An eye for an eye kind of thing.
If I have heard it once, I have heard it a million times..."marriage is 50/50"
Says who?
God says in Mark 10:8, and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
That looks like a whole to me. 100%. Not split down the middle.
Why is mercy so hard in our marriages?
I think it's because we are law craving, justice seeking people.
Not that this is a bad thing, but Jesus came to mess with all that law stuff. The same law that we are reading about in the book of Numbers. The rules, regulations, ordinances. All of the things that help us feel "fair", and "safe". Jesus ripped apart all of this law by His death on the Cross.
When Jesus showed us His Mercy for us by dying for us, our relationship status changed with God. We were suddenly covered in an ocean of Mercy. Completely undeserving. That's Mercy for you, my friends.
So, back to marriage.
Sometimes we forget that me must also show mercy to others. Even and especially our husbands. We get all black and white and justice seeking, and forget that we are alive because of God's Mercy.
What would happen in our marriages if we practiced mercy day in and day out?
When hour husbands are late coming home, without calling.
When our husbands spend too much money on that gun he has been eyeing.
When our husbands come home, plop down and turn on ESPN before even uttering a hello to us.
I am not saying our husbands always deserve our mercy, but we sure don't deserve God's mercy either.
This verse just rocks my world in the mercy department. Listen to this:
Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:12-13
Mercy triumphs over judgement. Lets chew on that today.
drowning in His Mercy,
jill
