February 7 ~ James 2:12-13
There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Recently, my husband and I watched our high school's girls basketball team win by a margin of almost 50 points. In the fourth period, the “mercy rule” was employed by the officials, meaning the clock did not stop running for free throws, time outs, or any other break in the game. The idea behind this rule is that the losing team is so far behind that it will be impossible to catch up… and running up the score does nothing but add insult to injury.
I would venture to say that God enacts the “mercy rule” pretty often in each of our lives. I’m fairly certain there are times when we are all in such deep trouble that there appears to be no way to dig out – except by the mercy and grace of God. This is not to say that we can do as we please and expect God to rescue us… nor is it to say that we should allow others to run roughshod over us with abuses and mistreatments.
No one wants to be another person’s doormat. But let me tell you… God absolutely will not become OUR doormats, either. He will offer mercy to us when we are genuinely repentant… but He will not tolerate our disrespect or arrogance. We can’t keep falling short and expecting God to go easy on us! And neither can we beg for His mercy, then turn around and fail to offer this same understanding to others.
There are times when we need to take a step back and “let the chips fall where they may.” But there are also times when we should have stepped up and shown mercy to others… and we chose not to do so. Nobody ever said offering mercy to others was easy… or uncomplicated. How do you know when to show mercy… and when to step away? There is no simple answer to this question. The best advice I can offer is to prayerfully discuss this with God. Seek His will and His guidance… and trust that the direction in which He leads you is the right one.
©2013 Debbie Robus
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