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Written by Rayne Gomes, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Salvador, Brazil
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Lk 6:36 NIV)
At my job, we provide services to a public organization responsible for granting benefits to citizens. It’s a normal day for me to serve dozens of people who have had their benefits denied, even though they have every right to receive them. Therefore, they contest the decision because, from a human perspective, everyone should receive what is due to them and it is unfair to not give someone what they deserve.
The spiritual perspective of mercy consists precisely of not granting something that is deserved. For us, this is a tremendous blessing because if we take into consideration what we deserve to receive due to our sinful nature, there would be nothing left for us but eternal condemnation.
The writer of the book of Hebrews talks a lot about the mediation and granting of this mercy in our lives. In chapter 2, verse 17, he states: “For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God.” It is interesting to see the emphasis that the author puts on the fact that when Jesus came in the flesh, He experienced the same situations as us and lived through the same reality as all humans. However, we know that He did not subject Himself to sin. Therefore, what would make someone turn God’s wrath onto themselves and receive the sentence that we deserved? M-E-R-C-Y.
When we deserved death, condemnation, and eternal distance from God… Jesus came and took our place so that we would not receive what was due to us. What a true relief!
Not only that, but Christ also destroyed that which could disable us eternally, brought us back to the family of God, and can claim that He knows exactly what we go through because He experienced the same pains, temptations, and trials so He could help us while we are in this life. And because He has also experienced this same life, He truly has compassion for us.
We can rest assured that, enjoying this immense benefit provided by Jesus as followers in His steps, there is nothing more important than imitating Him in our lives by also offering mercy to our neighbor. Of course, the application will be different. We cannot make atonement, nor do we need to, because Jesus has already done so, once and for all. However, extending a merciful hand to our brother or sister in forgiveness, love, and empathy leads us to an attitude of mercy, an example left by the Teacher who instructed His disciples in Luke 6:36, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
Take a moment to reflect: How can you be better at expressing your mercy towards others?
Remember, Christ has already done the hardest part, and He will help you along the way!
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Written by Lisanka Martínez, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Venezuela
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. (1Jn 1:5-10 NIV)
Change from walking in the darkness to the light…
Sometimes when we are baptized and begin our lives as new creatures, we do not fully understand the meaning of this. Perhaps, for those who grew up in the faith with parents, grandparents, and others setting an example and guiding them from their early childhood, and with constant connection with the Church, it is easier to understand. Even when going through moments of doubt, confusion, and even rebellion, they know the difference between light and darkness.
But for those who, like me, grew up in a secular world, where moral or legal rules were sometimes broken with excuses such as, "It's just part of growing up" or, "I don’t know enough to have an opinion" that encouraged me to do what I knew was wrong, and those differences were harder to internalize.
Did I repent? I thought so, but I made those same mistakes again which was a sign that I was not aware of the nature of the darkness in which I remained.
After many years of visiting the Church of Christ, I decided to be baptized and follow Jesus. I confess that changing my life and going from darkness to His admirable light has been a long process that at times has been uphill. He showed me how deep in that darkness I was, not wanting to know what was abominable to the Lord, and believing, like most of the world, that my actions did not harm anyone, that I tried to respect others, and that I gave everyone their rightful place. That was my mistake until in the church, I started learning about what God expects of His children; that I must obey even when I do not understand, and that in those cases, I must be silent, obey, and pray for the Heavenly Father to give me understanding and to forgive, again, my ignorance.
During the pandemic, I began to notice how others radiated God's light by keeping connected and in communion even without being physically present. I thank God for each of those people who set an example and who, in turn, taught me to reflect God's light to others. I also thank the Heavenly Father that I was able to dedicate myself during all that time to learning more about Him, searching His word, praying, and praising as never before in my life.
Yes, I must confess that's when I noticed, with shame, that my past actions did harm others—especially my beloved oldest daughter, my mother, and myself. That darkness had consequences, but God's wonderful love showed me that fellowship with Him is the answer to everything—that staying in His ways cleanses us from sin, helps us resist temptations, and gives us the way out of every situation. It also allows us to lead by example that the change we have experienced in our lives is because of our obedience to His word.
I continue to sin, yes, but now I have the necessary weapons to face the darkness and the awareness that I must keep the light of Christ shining in my life and show it to those around me so that they also know the salvation and love I found in living in Christ.
Are you going to let yourself be overcome by the darkness, or fight and show the light that is in you?
What do you think you should do when you feel that light going off?
When you go through trials that seem to fill your life with darkness and extinguish the Light that shines in you, think about how the Light of the World came to give us freedom and to shine in the darkness. Stay in communion with Christ and His body, pray, and ask others to pray for you. May God bless you and always guide you into His wondrous light.