I think the world would be a much better place if we extended the same grace and mercy to others that God extends to us.
Face it. We all mess up. No one is perfect, I don't care how much you think you are. News flash, You Are NOT. We all screw-up, we all sin and we all have to pay the price. Now granted, some screw ups are worse than others, at least by OUR standards. God does not label sins by the degree of bad to worse. Any sin is punishable by death. From the little kid stealing a cookie to the mass murderer to the gossipy little old lady. But.... imagine the world where, when we turned our lives over to God, and He forgives us and remembers our sins no more if we did the same for each other.
What if we looked at the guy who used to be the town drunk, but did an extensive rehabilitation program, cleaned his life up, and tried to start life anew, following the God that he found in rehab. What if we didn't always refer to him as the ex-drunk. Or question his every motive, wondering every time we saw his car parked at the convenience store if he was in there buying beer.
What if we looked at the woman who was wild in high school, and had a baby before she graduated, and didn't think of her as having loose morals. Because she gave her life to the Lord in her 20's, got married and lived a respectable life, or at least she tried to, despite everyone constantly reminding her how bad she used to be.
What if we spent our time lifting each other up, instead of tearing each other down. What if we didn't try to judge people based on who they are related to. Grouping someone in according to how bad of a reputation others with the same last name have. What if we remembered the Golden Rule, that even nonbelievers learned in school. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." This is Biblical, but even those who never have been to church know this.
Christians are told that there are two main laws that they are to follow. Love God, and love your neighbor. And who is your neighbor? Everyone. Not just the guy next door. Or the sweet lady across the street. Your neighbor is every single person you know. And we are to love them.
I struggle with this sometimes. Some people are just hard to love. And as a reformed hater and grudge holder, I struggle to love people that are just not good people. But I work on it. I try to see life from their point of view. I try to extend grace and mercy when they are mean to me. Instead of being hateful back, which is very tempting, I smile and try to think of something pleasant to say. I don't always succeed, but I TRY.
Because I know I am not always easy to love, and God always loves me. I know that I can be impossible and that I have done a lot of stuff wrong, but God is always there, with grace and mercy. But as Christians, and even as non-Christians who profess to be "good people", shouldn't we treat each other that same way? There is so much hate in the world. So much name calling. If you look on any national story on facebook and just read through the comments, or on local news reports that are posted, the comments can just get mean and ugly. As good people, why do we feel the need to attack those who don't agree with us? I may not agree with who you want to vote for, but I love you regardless. I may not agree with the baseball team or football team you like but I love you anyway. I may not agree with the life you lead, but I choose not to call you mean names. I might tell you that I think you are not making good life choices, but I will do it with love, and not say hateful things. Life is so short. Why make it harder than it already is by withholding love, and mercy, grace and forgiveness. This was a long lesson learned. I hated people for decades. But God forgave me, so I in return have forgiven others. God extended grace and mercy toward me, so how can I not extend it to others. God does not hold my past against me, so how can I hold someone else's past against them.
Hey, YOU, remember when....... if you look at someone and want to bring up a "Remember when" make it a good one. Hey, remember when we helped that guy out of the ditch? Remember when we all chipped together to help that guy fix his car? Remember when you gave me flowers because you knew I liked them? Remember the good deeds that people do, let the bad things go, Just like God does, as far as the east is from the west. Forgive. Love. Eat more bacon, because that will definitely make you happier. But for crying out loud! Love each other people! Life sucks bad enough, don't make someone's life harder than it already is. And smile. Life is always better if you smile. oh, and I really meant that about eating more bacon. Try it. Nitrates are good for the soul. :)
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