Receive Mercy and Give it Away

Receive Mercy and Give it Away

1 Peter 2:9, 10 NIV

 " . . . that you may declare the praises of him who called you

                              out of darkness

                                                into his wonderful light. 

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God;

             once you had not received mercy,

                   but now

                              you have received

                                                mercy."

          This verse says exactly what the sermon that Evan Westburg preached on, in his three part sermon on mercy. We have come from the darkness into light and have received mercy. Now go back and give the mercy away. We need to find tangible ways to give mercy to the ones right beside us, and the ones far across the world.

          Evan took us back in church history to see ways the church has shown mercy. Even times when the majority failed, there were those that cared. We learned about the Jesuits, Phillip Spener, John Wycliffe, John Huss, and Martin Luther.

          We've plenty of opportunities to show mercy in our day and age, too. Neighbors, friends, and families can be among those that we extend mercy. On a more broader scale organizations such as Compassion that supports children in third world countries, using Fair Trade products, and reaching out to the homeless are tangible ways to be Christians of mercy.

          As Evan said, "The church needs to be the place of mercy. The source for people to draw mercy from and extend out to the world."

          In a book that I am working on called "Walled Mercy" that is the very theme. Sometimes we Christians fight with the world and are so desperate to be right, when we need to be desperate to love.