Mercy And Forgiveness

THE DAILY WORD
By Jim Seekamp

Wednesday November 5, 2008

I've seen Christians speak and act harshly towards a person caught in a sin. That is not how God wants us to treat eachother. ALL of us make mistakes, and we should be kind and compassionate to eachother, keeping in mind the fact that none of us is perfact, and we ALL need mercy!

Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

The attribute we are most dependent on as human beings is forgiveness. We are all human and we all screw up at times, and do things we are later ashamed of. That's why we need to forgive eachother.

Jesus, as usual, is the best example of forgiveness:

John 8:3-11 (NIV)
3. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4. and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" 6. They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.
7. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." 8. Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" 11. "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

Despite His perfection and His right to judge, Jesus' response to the woman's sin was to forgive her. The woman's life was spared-- and no doubt, was changed-- because of God's forgiveness toward her, even though she did not deserve it.

God doesn't want us to sin because He doesn't want us to be hurt, and sin hurts us. If we don't admit our sin, then pride begins to form-- a sin far worse than any "action" sin we could ever commit. But when we admit our sin, God helps us get up again and start walking with Him again.

As believers, the Bible tells us that our natural response to a person caught in sin should be to pray for them, not to condemn them:

1 John 5:16 (NIV)
If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that.

Remember, the only sin that leads to spiritual death is rejecting Jesus Christ as Lord; but if you see your brother (fellow believer) commit any other sin, the correct Biblical response is to pray for him!

PRAYER
Thank You Father for Your perfect love for me. Help me to reflect that love to others by being like You and not keeping a record of wrongs others have done. Help me reflect Your patience and kindness to the world.
In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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