Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death.

"But I don't ask for justice, the mother explained. "I plead for mercy.?

"But your son does not deserve mercy,? Napoleon replied.

"Sir, the woman cried, "It would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for.

"Well, then, the emperor said, "I will have mercy? And he spared the woman's son.

(Luis Palau, Experiencing God's Forgiveness, Multnomah Press: 1984)

 

Mercy!  Yes, that’s what I want.  No, that's not right.  Mercy, that’s what I need. 

 

Mercy. I need it from God, because I am sinner. 

 

Mercy.  I need it from the government, because I am a lawbreaker. 

 

Mercy.  I need it from strangers, because I am human and rip them off, and disregard them, and take advantage of them. 

Mercy.  I need it from my friends, because I take them for granted and I use them for my own goals. 

Mercy.  I need it from my family because I expect too much from them and because they know me too well. 

Oh, yes, back to God, I need mercy from God because he also knows me too well.

Mercy is not getting what one deserves.

Oh, there is so much talk these days about justice.  Don’t tell me about justice.  It isn’t Good News.  I don’t want it for me.  Give me mercy.    

Let me ask you, would you want someone to be more just or more merciful?  Some people think that vengeance and revenge is justice being handed out.  Justice can also require restitution.  I thank God that Christ provided that once and for all.  If salvation depends on God’s justice we will never be saved.  It must be a product of mercy.

 

Merciful God, give me Mercy.  That's what I ask.  That's what I need.

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Follow me on Twitter where I will regularly be offering spiritual reflections:
My twitter account is: aaronnagelnj

It's Friday

It's Friday. It seems people work toward just getting to Friday so they can enjoy the weekend.

There was a time when people looked toward the weekend so they could get to worship again on Sunday to sing praise to God.

Would our weekends be different if we looked to them with the anticipation of giving thanks to God for making it through another week? Would our weekends be different if we actually began the week in worship five days before?

It's Friday. They only way to get God in our lives is to plan to spend time with the Lord.
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Follow me on Twitter where I will regularly be offering spiritual reflections: My twitter account is: aaronnagelnj

Blogging and Religious Faith

Blogging, not because I have the greatest things to say, but because we all need to talk about our religious faith and how it helps us make decisions in the world.

Oh, my... isn't that a public conversation. Yes, it is! It's supposed to be for each of us.

Religion is not to be proclaimed, lived or experienced in a vacuum.

Well, today is the day and the blogging begins. I invite you to join me

Religious faith is about reorienting your life. It's is a personal discovery that the world does not revolve around me. Life is not about me, it's about God and how I can allow God's influence on my to affect my life.

We live in a world that constantly calls upon us to take control of our personal situations so that we can produce wanted outcomes. But such a way of life is opposite of a life of faith.

We need to discover what God is calling us to do and to become. Only then will we be able to traverse the roads ahead of us without fear.

Follow me on Twitter where I will regularly be offering spiritual reflections: My twitter account is: aaronnagelnj