Mercy

Thank God for Mercy

Earlier today my friend sent me a picture of someone’s profile from Instagram. It said “God 1st” and then a whole bunch of other ungodly things followed. And before I could blink, I had already cast judgment. “That’s a hot mess”, “God first my behind”, and a few other things ran through my mind. And no sooner had I thought them I was convicted.

Who am I to judge her or anyone else? What makes my walk any better than hers? So I don’t drink, but I clearly am quick to judge. So I don’t go to bars and clubs, but I definitely listen to some ungodly music.

So I go to church every Sunday and Wednesday, but I check my phone at least three times a service. My point to all this is that just like that girl, I am far from perfect. I fall short of who and what God wants me to be on daily basis. I think (and sometimes even say) mean things when I have to deal with traffic. I don’t pray or read my Bible how I should. Yet, God loves me anyway. He’s merciful anyway. He’s a God of grace anyway.

It’s so easy for us to know how OTHER Christians should behave, but we fail to focus on our own behaviors. NONE OF US WILL GET IT RIGHT. If we were able to live sinless, righteous lives, Jesus wouldn’t have had to endure the cross. BUT HE DID.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this gives any of us the right to abuse God’s mercy and grace, and the salvation freely given to us. I don’t think we should walk around doing any and everything because we know God will love us anyway. 

We need to take a close look at ourselves. Recognize where we are and how we can get closer to where God wants us to be. Look at the condition of our heart and ask God to heal us if we carry bitterness and pain. And thank God for His mercy and grace. If we are going to cast stones, we need to cast them towards ourselves

Written by Amber Boggs. If you’d like to contact Amber, you can reach her here.