Our human record is clear.  From the reported time of disobedience in the Garden of Eden throughout human history, we have been disobedient, willful, stiff-necked, proud, arrogant and unfaithful.  And in examining our relationship with God, we find that sometimes we get what we deserve.  We suffer for all the times we’ve been disobedient.  That suffering comes in a myriad of ways.  We suffer emotionally, mentally, and sometimes physically.  Yet, there are other times when we not only don’t get what we deserve.  We don’t deserve what we get.

         God’s history with humanity has frequently been one where God has lived faithfully to being merciful.  We tend to be able to accept God’s truth when God has shown mercy to us.  We are less accepting of God’s truth when God has shown mercy to someone we don’t believe is deserving of it.  And yet, that begs the question.  “Are any of us deserving of God’s mercy?”  Or has the scripture, “ … all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”, become nothing more than a catch phrase used to explain the human condition?

         Because God is God all by God’s self, have we come to the point that handling God’s truth won’t allow us to accept that “ … I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.”? (Exodus 33:19 & Romans 9:15).

         Handling God’s truth means handling all of God’s truth, however irrational it may seem to us.  And yet it is God’s truth that we ultimately have to hear, believe, trust, and live by.  For us to do anything else is to try being God all by ourselves.  To do that is proof positive that we can’t handle God’s truth.

• What causes you to become frustrated with God’s truth, and why?
• How do we then come to reconcile God’s truth with our lack of wisdom about how God is working things out?
• What prevents us from ‘handling God’s truth’ when we are confronted with it?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Merciful God, teach me to handle the truth of your generous mercy even when it is extended to those whom I believe don’t deserve it. Humble me to remember that I don’t deserve it either, but we all receive it as a gift of Your grace.

         The truth is sometimes a very difficult thing for people to accept.  I’m not sure why, but at some point, I think it goes against our nature to believe and accept something that doesn’t fit who we are.  As people, many of us are fiercely independent.  We like to think that we think for ourselves, act on our own best judgment, and live according to our own developed values and belief systems. And when something comes into our world of belief that runs counter to that, we fight against it.  We at times, refuse to accept it as the truth — a truth that exists to change how we think, act, feel, and respond to the world around us.  And we definitely don’t consider that truth good news.  It upsets the applecart of our lives.  I think that’s the difficulty with handling God’s truth.

         But once we accepted God’s truth — especially if that truth is good news — like any good news it bears repeating.  Good news is something that can change a person’s life — change a person’s world — change a person’s destiny.

         But what if that good news is never told?  What if the best news in the world remains a well-kept secret?  What if the good news — if told — could give people wisdom, relieve peoples suffering, restore their hope, allow their lives to be renewed, but that good news was never mentioned; never shared; never spoken about.  Then those for whom the good news would really be good news are left in their ignorance without wisdom, suffering without knowing they could be healed, hopeless without realizing that there was hope for them.  What if there was a prisoner who had been set free, but never got the good news of their impending freedom, or someone who had been held captive, but never heard the good news that their ransom had been paid?  And what if you had been sent to proclaim good news to the poor, proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, but you never opened your mouth or uttered one word of good news to those to whom the good news was sent.  It begs the questions Paul asked about Jesus, “How are they to call on one in whom they have not believed?  And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard?  And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?  And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent?

         Perhaps God, Christ, and our world would be better served if those of us who have heard, believed, and called upon the name of the Lord and were sent now told somebody the good news that we’ve heard — to the glory of God.  Those who heard our good news would consider our feet beautiful from the mountain of despair on which they stood.

• Does realizing that God has sent each of us as believers to tell the good news make that truth more difficult to tell?
• What makes telling the good news of God’s grace to others difficult for you?
• What can you do to grow in Christ in order to better share the story of God’s grace with others?

Todays Prayer

Today’s prayer —
Merciful God, grant me the courage to handle Your truth and go as I’ve been sent to spread the word of the good news of Your grace to all who would hear and believe?

         Many of us recall the story of Jesus and his feeding of both the four thousand  at one time, and the feeding of five thousand with two fish and five loaves.  I’m not sure that any recall the story of Elisha and the feeding of over one hundred men with twenty barley loaves and fresh ears of grain in his sack.  And yet it follows the parallel of Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand in many ways. In some ways, when we asked to do something that seems to be impossible, we hedge a bit, expressing our doubt that what is being asked of us is possible.  And it doesn’t matter that every command  comes from God, we find a way to doubt the fulfillment of the request.  Yet, despite our doubts, someone always acts on their faithfulness to do what is asked.  Jesus said, “Bring what you have to me.”  Despite their doubts, the disciples responded faithfully and five thousand men, besides women and children were fed.  Elisha said, “Give to the men, that they may eat.”  Yet, despite the doubts of the servant, he acted in faith and set the substance before them.  And after each act of faithfulness — both from the disciples and Elisha’s servant — all were fed and there was some left over.

         Sometimes looking up to God means nothing more than trusting God over and above our own instincts and judgments of what our resources are.  I believe God is looked up to when we become surprised that God not only provides our needs but leaves us with leftovers just when we thought we didn’t have enough.  When God is that generous to us, we not only look up to God, but we lift God up higher with praise and thanksgiving.

• How easy is it for you to look up to God in trust believing that God will more than supply your needs?
• Does God’s over-supply of your needs increase the likelihood that you will continue to look up to God?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Generous God, grow my faith and trust in You, always leading me to look up to You because You are trustworthy to answer my prayers, even to over-supplying what I ask for.