Jude 1:17-23ff "Mercy"
When you listen to some preachers, you can be forgiven for thinking that life as a Christian is easy and everything will go your way...
"Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you." [C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe(HarperCollins, 1950), p. 48.]
And so, I reckon, life as a Christian is anything but safe. But it's good. And because it's not safe, there will be opposition. This is what Jude was trying to address in his letter.
Jude 1:17-23ff
But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy...
Even though there will be opposition and people will be against you, you still need to be merciful to those around you.
Sometimes that's easier said than done. It is often easier to try and correct someone and tell them how wrong they are to doubt than to help them work through their doubt and take it to Jesus.
So, just as Jesus shows us mercy, show mercy to those around you in all things. Not always safe to do, but good.
Is mercy hard for you? Have you been shown mercy? Feel like sharing with us? Leave message below, on Facebook or via Twitter @YourMondayMsg
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