Particularly, during this Lent, can our resolve be to express mercy to one another and
ourselves? God’s life expresses itself in practice relating to each other by showing the
compassion, kindness, humility and readiness to forgive that Jesus demonstrated revealing God
in His own way of life. Can you look at how God’s great mercy and love have sustained you
during every challenge you have faced not only this year, but through your life?
With the burdens of life and enticements around us it’s no wonder we struggle at times.
God can love others through you, even if or when you find loving them difficult. As a caretaker,
there are innumerable times we lose our patience and carry resentments. Perhaps we are also
angry at God. Our merciful God knows the burdens we carry - sick loved ones, broken
relationships, anxiety, fear and regret. We are called to place our concerns in God’s loving
hands and trust that love is stronger than anything, even the power of death.
Sometimes we judge ourselves too harshly and think that God could never forgive us.
When we take time to be with the Lord, we see the truth, God is all loving, all just, all merciful.
We are welcomed unconditionally, even though we are not always loving, just or merciful. Will
you make it a habit this month of quieting down and putting yourself in God’s presence?
Leaving the noise of the world and being silent, will enable us to hear Him say, ‘I love you.’ This
unfathomable love is ours and we are always encouraged to accept God’s mercy.
God sees us in the light of His perfect plan and intentions for our life. So often, our sight
is fixed on the ragged edges of who we are or what we have done. We will always be far more
than the sum of all our troubles, because we will always be treasured children of an all-loving
God. Lent is time for a deeper faith, a deeper abandonment to the Lord, where we begin to
understand His love on a much stronger plane.
I was inspired by these words from my Scripture study, the Word Among Us – “When
we gaze upon the face of someone we love and see their pain or vulnerability, sacrifice
becomes not a burdensome duty but a personal gift. Our hearts are moved and the burden
dissolves. The task becomes lighter as you see Christ in the other person and love them as He
loves them. Let that love give you the strength to respond generously to needs all around you.”
It's possible to change what fills our heart and comes out of our mouth, by being convinced ofGod’s compassion, receiving the richness of His mercy.
“When I say, “My foot is slipping,” Your mercy, Lord, holds me up.” (Psalm 94:18.) It’s
not impossible, though quite hard, to forgive ourselves and yet it is absolutely necessary! Can
we accept, despite our imperfections, that God longs to fill us with His mercy and set us free?