Theme: Mercy
Scripture: Psalm 145:8 The Message Version
God is all mercy and grace - not quick to anger, is rich in love.
Devotional:
For many, Lent is synonymous with guilt. As we
have already learned, Lent is the opportunity afforded us each year to reflect.
For some it is a reflection of God’s goodness and our sinfulness. For others,
it is a glaring look at what we’ve done wrong and a chance to transform into
something – or someone – better. In this practice we can rid ourselves of our
guilty conscience and deny ourselves certain pleasure – all for the sake of
making up for the mistakes we’ve made.
Mistakes. Whew! We all make them. And for some of
us, they make us.
There was an imprint made years ago that continues to hijack my thoughts – I am not good enough! I used to wonder where that idea came from but when I think back to my early adolescence, I am reminded of being with my paternal grandmother and constantly being criticized because I wasn’t doing “it” right. “It” was representative of several things, but whatever “it” was I was doing “it” incorrectly. That idea stuck with me because later I realized that when I did “it” right my grandmother was happy. Four decades later and I am still trying to get “it” right. For her, my mistakes were a poor reflection of our family and projected a negative image to people around us. My grandmother’s way of scolding me was much more severe than a spanking (though at 8, 9, or 10 years old I was probably thankful). She would withhold conversation, hugs, and smiles. To a precocious young girl, who found happiness and energy in relationships with other people, this withdrawal of interaction was counterproductive. Even now I am paralyzed by the idea of making mistakes.
AND I am thankful for God’s mercy.
For me, mercy is when God doesn’t give me what I deserve because of the mistakes I have made. When I think about mistakes, ironically, I don’t view it as much different than my early relationship with my grandmother. When I perform outside of the lines then certain privileges are withheld from me. This kind of thinking grates against the very idea of the kind, loving, and forgiving God that I know exists, though. I believe in the God who forgave David for his acts of adultery, but it is difficult for me to understand that kind of God. And even though the Bible is full of stories and passages of a forgiving God, who withheld punishment because of love and compassion, it is also full of stories of people who were punished for their wrongdoing and who jeopardized harmonious relationship with God because of wrongdoing.
AND I am thankful for God’s mercy.
Admittedly, I have great compassion for others and their mistakes. I just struggle sometimes with compassion for myself. (Plus, you have heard me say before that I am a much better teacher than I am a practitioner; yes, I am a work in progress!)
As I continue to lean into the Lenten season, reflecting on my spiritual, emotional, mental landscape, I am emboldened to sit more with my thoughts about mercy and mistakes. Since I long to experience God in a more tangible way and explore how God shows up for me in everyday scenarios, I will imagine (and embrace) the compassionate, loving, MERCIFUL God, whose mercy never ceases.
AND I am thankful for God’s mercy!
Prayer:
God I am thankful for your mercy. I receive the grace, love and compassion that
you lavishly pour into my life. I am even more grateful for the ways that you
show me how to extend this gift to others. God help me to see that mistakes are
part of what it means to learn. We aren’t always going to get it right. AND we should
also understand that when we get it wrong, Your mercy (and love!) gathers us! God, I hope to embrace – in this season – what it means to receive mercy for my mistakes.
Thank you, God, for speaking to my heart today and for showing me that there is
mercy for mistakes.
Reflection Question:
Do you struggle to show mercy to others? Yourself? To what has mercy said no,
in your life?
