Mercy

How often do you think about the mercy of Christ?  My guess is probably about as much as I do, which isn't often.  Yes, I know all about His great mercy in His sacrifice for us; however, I do not give Him as much thanks on this issue as I should.  Mercy came into my mind today as I learned, or just realized I had already learned, the word for Mercy in the language of Camel Land.  It is a beautiful word both in English and in this language.  However, it is sad how the Oth people of Camel Land use this word or think about it.

One of the things I often do during my language times is learn about cultural practices or traditions.  One of the practices I have been trying to understand better and learn more about is that of the funeral.  Today I learned for Oth people when a person dies if they do not receive the "special" pr from the prst then they will not receive Dad's mercy.  His mercy is not available to them while they are alive, and if they are poor/destitute/just without enough money at the time, then they have no hope of having or experiencing any of His mercy even in death.

There were several things that struck me about this.  The first issue was that according to the Oth (people who claim to be apart of the ch), one cannot experience His mercy in life!  One can only experience mercy in death, and that mercy is only given by somehow being rescued out of the clutches of hell through the words of a corrupt prst's pr!  The second issue was that if you are poor in this life you cannot expect to ever receive anything from Dad ever, not even in death because you can't pay the prst to pr that "magical" pr for you!  The third was how sad and corrupt we are as men and women saying we know how to get the mercy of Dad, if you'll just pay me this money or feed me this food I'll pr this pr@y for you.  Be careful to present His mercy, His gospel as free with no chains attached.....that is how He meant it.

Another heartbreaking fact is that most of the poor and destitute will spend most of the lives pleading/begging in the form of a pr that Dad would spare their loved one until they can get enough money to pay the prst for the pr@y. 

So how often do you think about mercy?  How often are you truly grateful and thankful for the mercy Christ has lavished upond us?  In this time of thanksgiving think about being thankful for His mercy, and be willing to share the "secret" that His mercy is available to us now!  You know this view of mercy only in death is not just a Oth view.  I have encountered it in every country I've lived in, and that includes the US.  Those of us already in the Body remember we have His mercy!!!!!!!!!! Trust Him at his word and work and live for the joy of giving Him thanks instead of trying to achieve what He has already given, something we could never achieve on our own.  Thank Him for sending His son to the Mercy Seat.

Serving Him with You,
Rachel