Proverbs 19:17
Mercy to the needy is a loan to God, and God pays back those loans in full.
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
If you follow my daily devotionals, you know that this has been a
rough year for us. I wrote in our Christmas newsletter that 2016 kicked
us in the gut…and it did. But God ushered us through all of it. We
even welcomed a new arrival last March – my cousin, Hudson Edward.
Nothing blesses like a new baby to snuggle!
One of the things I have been keenly aware of this year is how God fills
gaps. When my mother died, Greg told me that he was worried about how I
would fill in the time that she and I spent each day talking on the
phone or exchanging email messages. I can’t tell you how God did it…but
I think I’ve coped with this loss better than I could have ever
imagined – or explained. And somehow, those daily “gaps” were filled.
Greg and I kept our nephew, Nathan, on Mondays and Fridays for over a
year…and when he went back to school in September, I went to school, too
– the elementary school! Each Friday, I find needs in all sizes,
shapes and ages…and I try to give what I can to fill them. When I read
this verse from Proverbs 19, it struck me that my “mercy” to students
and teachers may be a loan to God and a gift to the “needy,” but it
blesses ME most of all.
I’ve also learned to stop and be present in the moment more…and this is a
form of “mercy to the needy,” as well. When our 17+-year-old cat Mabel
demands that I sit in a reclining chair and let her sleep between my
feet, I comply. These are moments I won’t ever get back…and they give
me time to reflect on how well she has loved us all of these years – and
the joy that this little calico bundle has brought to our lives. They
also give me time to sit, breathe and just “be” for a while…to slow
down, rest, and regroup. God knows that I need this…and out of my
“mercy” for an elderly cat, He provides me with a reprieve.
These are only two illustrations…there are dozens more. The point is
that our concept of the “needy” and God’s are not the same. His are far
more encompassing. We ALL have opportunities every single day to give
to the “poor in spirit,” as well as those who are physically in some
form of need. Every time we share mercy, grace, forgiveness and
kindness with someone else, we are doing this in Jesus’ name – or we
should be. In this way, we are “loaning” ourselves to God to serve on
His behalf…and Scripture tells us that He repays these loans with
interest!
We need to get to a point in our love of Christ and desire to serve Him
where we would do this regardless of the “reward.” We ought to be so in
love with Jesus that we want to do everything we can to share Him with
others – in whatever form they need and He directs…and this really
should come “second-nature” to us. Are you there yet? Are you working
toward this level of Christian discipleship? Isn’t it time you were?
I don’t know what God is calling you to do…where He is asking you to
offer mercy to the needy – or in what capacity. But I do know that God
wants to fill in the gaps in your life as He shows you how to fill in
those for others. Are you ready to follow His lead? Will this be the
day you get started?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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