More Mercy

What Do You Think? Wednesday

A thought from my journal:

We must have mercy on others, true mercy that comes from a heart that recognizes the misery of sin. God has mercy upon the sinner to pardon her from the consequences of sin and provides an opportunity to be relieved of the misery of sin. The consequences of sin are the just results we receive for engaging in sin. The misery is the shame and other emotional turmoil we experience as a result of sin. We may still be in sin or may have been delivered from it, but if we don’t recognize God’s mercy in its totality—us not receiving the consequences we deserve and God not requiring we walk in guilt—we will remain miserable. We don’t believe we have been fully pardoned and don’t believe God can (and wants to) use us to His glory. We cannot become our version of God and deny mercy to others and even ourselves. Truly we will be people most miserable and live in a world more intensely miserable than we could imagine.

There is no misery allowed! Stop wallowing in sin. Ask God for and trust that He will give you forgiveness and pass the same on to others (1 John 1:9).

What do you think causes us to reject God’s mercy and not have mercy on others? Please, tell me what you think.