10-11-2023

Good Morning All,

   Matthew 5:7; “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

       There was a man that I used to know many years ago, he has since died.  You would run into him at the local elevator or the local co-op.  You might see him at the local Memorial Day service in town.  He was just an average run of the mill guy.  There wasn’t anything special about him.  He wasn’t rich or poor.  He wasn’t particularly handsome or ugly; he was just a man.

    Yet he was the saddest and the bitterest person that I had ever met.  He remembered, vividly, every single slight that any neighbor or anyone who he knew had done to him.  He could remember the time someone didn’t say “hi” to him as he walked down the street.  He remembered the neighbor whose cows got out and into his newly plowed field.  He could remember the time the fuel delivery guy was a day late delivering fuel.  He could remember which neighbor did and did not come to help him when he had been hurt.  He remembered it all and he relived it every time he saw someone who would listen.  He lived his life as a sullen, unhappy man.  He never had a smile or a kind word.  Most people would go out of their way to avoid him.  It must have been an incredible disappointing life.

    This is what the Bible is telling us about forgiveness.  Sin refuses to give forgiveness.  Sin tells you to hold onto the grudge, to make sure you get even.  What sin doesn’t tell you is the unbelievable toll that this attitude causes you.  You have no contentment, you have no peace, you have no joy; you only have sorrow and pain.  Those who are not merciful reject God’s mercy.  Those who are not forgiving, hold onto the sins which God has forgiven but they haven’t.  So, by clutching to that sin, you reject God.  It is not that we earn mercy or have it by merit, rather it is that we reject God’s mercy.

    When we reject God, we reject the peace and contentment that he gives us; we simply try to walk away.  When we walk away from God, from his mercy, love, gentleness, and hope; we walk toward anger, hatred, jealousy, and an uneasy and unhappy life.  We live the life of that angry, bitter man and that is not the life that God intends for us.  The life he intends for us is one of contentment, peace, love, and hope.  “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you” is what God tells us.  It is the life we can grab hold of, but we have to let go first.  We have to let go of our sin and then let go of our neighbor’s sin against us.  God invites you to let go of your anger, your pain, and your sorrow. 

    So be merciful, let the sins of others go.  They only cause you pain as you hold onto them.  They only let others control your happiness.  Give them up and enjoy God’s mercy in your life.

Gracious and tender Father, through your mercy you bring us back into your holy family.  Teach us to see that our contentment is about the mercy we show.  Guide us by your Spirit to see that our happiness comes from you and is best expressed by showing love to others.  Be with those who won’t let go of the pain.  Give the desire to seek your will and trust in your promise.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret