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Mercy and Compassion

Jude 22-23 Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

This is something I have struggles with, loving those who frustrate me.  How can we be merciful to those who are "corrupt" without being judgmental?  It is definitely not our place to judge one another, it is our place to love one another.  Sometimes loving the people who are rude or cruel is the hardest part of being a Christian.  My humanity would like to judge people for their behaviors and choices and lash out at them.  I believe we are only able to show true mercy and compassion for others when we accept these for ourselves from Jesus and then He lives them through us.  Allowing God to change our hearts in order that Jesus' mercy and compassion shine through is a journey.  It's not always easy.  On those difficult days, I remain quiet and ask God to love on me, so I can love on them. You never know what has happened in someone's life to make them say or do something.  My first question when anyone is cruel to me is, "I wonder what happened to him/her today?"  It puts everything into perspective.  Who is God prompting you to love on today?  Show His mercy and compassion
as He has so graciously shown you.

Comments

  1. LizJanuary 31, 2014 at 8:33 AM

    I love this a lot. And I should also say that, "Hurt people hurt people. Changed people change people." isn't my original quote. : ) I'm pretty sure I read the hurt people quote somewhere, and I feel like our dad said, "Changed people change people." ; ) Just want to give credit where credit is due!

    Liz Teel

    ReplyDelete
  2. Abbie CoffeyJanuary 31, 2014 at 9:02 PM

    Thanks for correcting my quoting mistake. Oops!!

    ReplyDelete

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