Mercy

I got challenged by a sermon, one that got under my skin, not because I disagreed with the exposition or the theology. That side of it was well done, very well done. It was the context, the accusation that it carried, the demand to forgive, repent, to cease seeking justice and bless those who curse you. In particular the person delivering the sermon.

Every inch of me reared up at the injustice of it all. It was wrong...I had a case, I was falsely accused and it wasn't the first time... its been a long year, a year of growth, working things out, growing in God, recognizing my sin, changing my worldview...and false or at least severely twisted accusations and punishments arising from them. You get the picture...

Only at the heart of it all is the Christian call to forgive, to seek redemption "to seek justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God"

In the face of this all I could feel was the injustice. Receiving justice would make it different.

But this year has taught me heading down the justice track with God never ends well but that was where I was. This year has had a precision screams evil mastermind and God hadn't intervened yet. I guessed it wasn't that I was about to be delivered from it by divine intervention. There was a point, a good, redemptive point.

God doesn't call us to demand justice but to seek for it, to look for it, but along the way to love, to delight in, to be willing to prefer mercy.