Extending Grace & Mercy

Struggling periods in life are hard enough but they are even tougher when people don’t extend you grace and mercy during that trying and painful time.

… It’s always easier to judge then live in the truth and love of Jesus Christ.

It’s easy to be a fruit inspector and see just the bad fruit but is that what God sees in a person who we see as worthless, small, a failure, an outcast and so on?

No!

Jesus is the faithful shepherd. He goes and gets that lost sheep or the sheep that has fallen into the well even on the Sabbath. He isn’t religious but real. He is the one who ministers to the cast sheep that is drowning in the circumstances, perceptions and feelings about life. He is the one who relieves the heaviness of life and gets the sheep back on their feet. Unfortunately the enemy, who sees the compromising and recovering position of the sheep, urges other sheep to knock that sheep back down. These sheep, which feel justified speak and do so in a manner that doesn’t exalt Christ.

You know the reason they feel justified to speak from their flesh? They do this because they have forgotten the mercy and grace that God has given them.

But deeper…. you know why it hurts you? You have based your value on how others look and act towards you. Don’t worry I got that t-shirt as well. In fact it is autographed more then once.

It hurts us because we have forgotten that God didn’t just send anyone to die for us but He sent himself (Jesus Christ) who didn’t just know all your successes but also your failures and troubles as well. And in spite of all these things, he saw you as precious enough to die for. He valued you so much that he died for you.

No one can value you more then God - Jesus Christ.

I am still learning the value of Jesus going to the cross and taking the punishment for me. My value is not in those who value or not value me but what Jesus did for me. God would lay down his life for me! That is where our value should be in. That is where our faith should live and breath and start and finish. That is where our confidence needs to remain.

The Lord is our rock and our salvation. The Lord is our shepherd we shall not want. He leads us to peaceful streams and to rest in green pastures.

I see that extending grace and mercy can be a mighty tool to those who are struggling and not extending grace and mercy can cause more problems. Here God is addressing the issues in this person’s life and you not seeing this make negative comments and use God’s sharp word against them…

Do you want to open your mouth out of some fleshly justification and have to answer to God for causing more havoc in a person’s life. He is helping a cast sheep, which is drowning in the circumstances, perceptions, failures, situations in life and you come along and say whatever you “feel” like. You going to set fires to God’s work and leave only bitter tastes?

God says to love and do good to your brother and sister in Christ. He says to do good even if it means to suffer. (1 Peter 2:21) He says “And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much!” (Luke 6:33) He says to love your enemies. (Matthew 5:43-48)

We are to live in the truth, which Jesus Christ, died for you.

If we are not living in this truth we cannot give grace and mercy to those struggling.

The same is true for the struggling. If they are not living in the truth, they cannot extend grace and mercy to those who judge and have prejudices against them but a win-win situation only comes and exalts Christ when grace and mercy are extended.

Extended grace and mercy builds instead of tears down which produces conduct that is worthy of the Gospel of Christ. It unites instead of separates.

Jesus says “Stop judging others and you will not be judged. For others will treat you as you treat them. Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged.” Matthew 7

To the struggling and emotional compromised…. Don’t give yourself, your value, your outlook on life, your faith, your prospective, your confidence, your trust – that are pearls which God has paid for to people who can easily attack you, turn on you, and make you feel like all the things you are not.

To the people who want to speak out of some fleshly justification, you treat someone as if they have no value, they will act as if they have no value.

God says, “I want you to be merciful. I don’t want your sacrifices. I want you to know God; that’s more important then burnt offerings.” Hosea 6:6

Jesus says “God blesses those who are merciful. For they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7

Accepting God’s value and meditating on this truth in your mind and heart will empower you and God will allow you to give mercy and grace when the human nature demands vengeance.

And though we understand a person reaps what he/she sows, it is not our duty to judge. No one really knows what a person is going through. Who can give an accurate conclusion by only our own human observation and calculation? For who knows the good work of Christ being completed in a person who is struggling? Certainty it is not us- for who carries out the good work in you?

“Each heart knows its own bitterness and no one can fully share its joy.” Proverbs 14:10

Success is done only in the Spirit not the flesh.

The flesh only causes obstacles; envy, rivalry and trouble- the ways of the flesh don’t work for the living Gospel but working against it.

Don’t be biased but give the same consideration Christ has and is continuing to give to you.

You take things into your own hands instead of praying and allowing God to work- you are causing more trouble. You are not being an instrument of God. You are being a stumbling block.

God is removing the speck from your brother or sister’s eye and because you have decided what is going on and what is best – you have “not only” inserted a log in your own eye but hurt the relationship you could have built-up in Christ.

Extend grace and mercy and you will reap mercy and blessing.

To those struggling and hurting may God show you the reason for this pain that maybe purposeful to teach you something deeper to strength your faith or so you can exalt Christ. Remember Jesus loves you enough to die for you…. That is how much he values you.