Week 2 | Day 3 | My Father’s Mercy

Command:

Turn the other cheek. Matthew 5:39 (NIV)

Read:

Therefore the Lord is waiting to show you mercy, and is rising up to show you compassion, for the Lord is a just God. All who wait patiently for Him are happy. Isaiah 30:18 (HCSB)

Reflect:

I took a significant amount of money from my dad’s wallet one morning. It was my turn to treat my third-grade classmates to a snack during recess. In the evening, dad asked my brother and me if we knew anything about the missing money. My brother of course knew nothing. I lied. I suggested maybe the nanny helped herself to it. Well…she didn’t take the money. My dad excused me from their room and asked my terrified brother to go fetch his belt. 

As I was exiting the room, my dad tells my brother, “Well since you’re the eldest, and no one wants to fess up, you’ll have to take responsibility.” My mind imagined what “take responsibility” meant. Dad was the disciplinarian and though he never laid a hand on us, there were definitely times when I thought he would. This was one of those moments. 

I quickly turned back, yelling at my dad, “No! I did it! I took the money!” I braced myself for, at the very least, my dad yelling at me and taking away my privileges, and at the worst, using the belt on me. Neither happened. Instead, my dad drew me close, held me in his arms, and whispered, “All you had to do was tell me the truth.” I don’t know why I expected any less from my dad. Though I grew up in a very strict household, neither of my parents took to corporal punishment. Asking my brother to grab the belt was really just a ploy – yes, admittedly a bad one at that. He never intended to use it. He already knew that I took the money. Instead of taking my act as a personal affront to him, he took the opportunity to share a lesson with me. Looking back, I see that my dad just wanted me to fess up and to trust that he was merciful. 

React:

What are some things you’re keeping from God for fear of being punished? How about fessing up now that thing he already knows about and see what happens?

Pray:

God, thank you that even in our waywardness you’ve held us in your arms and shown us mercy. Help us to show the same kind of love towards those who’ve offended us.