Tag: Matthew 18:21-35

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Warning: No Mercy Hoarding Allowed

Dearest sisters,

I must tell you that although my letter is brief it comes with a fervent prayer that it will stir in you the sincerest desire to be thankful and generous with God’s mercy.  When I think of how our great God loves new beginnings there is no scripture more telling of this Truth than:

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

Everyday God pours His mercy out to His beloved children because, each and every day we awaken from our slumber and open our eyes to this world, He knows we desperately need it.  We desperately need Him. Without Him we could easily be swallowed up by the world, the enemy and our own sinful flesh, the three battlefronts of our souls.

Because His love is sure and steadfast His mercy is endless. It does not take being in Christ very long before we realize how incredible this Truth is. If we have ever tried to forgive another person without this anchor you know, and I know our bitterness and resentment eventually resurface. Soon, the love and forgiveness we gave becomes something we wish we could take back. We become very choosy with whom we will give our mercy and forgiveness to. We decide who is worthy of it and who it is not! Wow! Wait just a minute that sounds familiar!  The servant who was graciously given mercy by his master and forgiveness for a debt he could never repay now chokes the person who owes him a day’s wages, comparatively speaking! Matthew 18:21-35.

“God so loved the world, that He gave us His Son…” (John 3:16). The language of this well- known verse exemplifies what the Lord says to us in Lamentations.  God loves so He gives. If you ever wonder why it is difficult to give mercy to another person, or that you want it back it could be that you don’t understand love at all. Love always gives and is constantly looking outward not inward. Check it out in I Corinthians 13:4-8.

The mercy which comes from the heart of God is never to be stored up and rationed out. That is what I call greedy. There are many excuses for hoarding the mercy God gives to us, but I think fear is most likely the number one excuse we are reserved in our giving. We are fearful of being hurt by the one we are making ourselves vulnerable to. We fear being rejected, we fear that if we give mercy to another there won’t be enough left for us. We fear being without at a later time, thinking God’s door will someday close. We fear that whatever we give out will not be given back to us. We fear looking stupid in the eyes of the world. We fear losing control of our little storehouses when in fact they do not even belong to us in the first place. You and I have been bought by the blood of Christ therefore we belong to God, He owns us! That includes our little storehouses.

We do not deserve God’s mercy, yet in an act of love He freely gives it to us.  It was not meant to be held on to but to be given out to others each day.  And at the end of the day our storehouse should be empty. Sister when I close my eyes at night I want my heart to have been emptied out, wrung out of all the goodness and mercy God has bestowed on me that day. Because, come the dawn of the next day (if He wills it to be) He will provide me (you) with it once again! New mercies each and every day. A new day a new beginning!

Who needs your mercy today? Will you choose to open the storehouse of your heart today and share what God has graciously poured into it? I pray that all who read this will do so gladly.

With love and mercy,

Susan

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Help For A Prideful Heart

My dear sister,

I can tell when I’m getting there: my belly tightens, my countenance falls, and my eyes can’t meet theirs.   These physical reactions are manifestations of what is going on in my soul…choosing to not forgive the person for what they have done to me. After all, if I was in their position, I would have never made the choice they did: to hurt me. Or so I make myself believe so I can feel good about holding onto my resentment that is quickly rolling into bitterness.

I read somewhere that anger responds to an incident, about what someone did, where resentment (that leads to bitterness) is a settled stance against the person. I have found that true in my life, have you? I have determined in my heart that I will not like or forgive a person. The hurt they inflicted on me (abuse, break of trust, afflicting my child, adultery, firing me, etc.) is something that I can never forgive or forget.

I wish I had more than a few paragraphs to work through this, as it is an issue that is insidious in women’s lives and sometimes needs years of biblical counseling. But there is hope for you and me. Please let me preach to myself as I write to you.

Resentment and bitterness in my heart shows that I have forgotten how much sin Jesus paid for me on the cross. Please take time to read Matthew 18:21-35 where Jesus tells a parable of a servant who was freed from a lifetime of debt, jailed his servant who owed him a hundred days wage. Jesus has paid for all my ugly sin against God and all my neighbors, yet I can’t forgive one neighbor. “But I would never have done what they did!” Oh sister, but by the grace of God we are where we are. We are all capable of all sin. We murder in our hearts. We commit adultery with our choices of books, TV, or thoughts. We connive to get our way. We manipulate our husband, friend’s and family. And if you proudly say you haven’t done these, you now have shown your prideful heart.

We need God’s forgiveness in our lives! If we forget this, resentment against others moves in. As believers, we are known by our love to God and neighbor. If our love is not shown as forgiveness to those who have hurt us, how can we be sure that we truly trust that the Lord has forgiven us? If we genuinely believe that we have been shown mercy by our Creator, how can we not then show mercy to fellow offenders?

Finally, the Lord says that vengeance is His, not ours. We are not judge and jury over others, God is. Let the Lord deal with your offender. He will do them justice. He will give them what they deserve. So sister, let them go. Pray that they will find their forgiveness with the Lord rather than face the wrath of hell for eternity (what we all deserve). Serve them. Impossible? YES! That is why we need an all powerful God and Spirit to help us do what we cannot do on our own. Will we fail? Yes. Let’s be honest, we are human. But then…remember! Christ died for our bitterness and resentment! Repent! Find the refreshment of being cleansed by the blood. Then, let this be your inspiration to free your offender. Look them in the eye and forgive them as you have been forgiven.

Oh God! Help us! This is so difficult! We need you to help us not be resentful. Wash us anew in your grace and mercy and strengthen us to extend this mercy to others.

Your sister in Christ,

Colleen