Called to Love, not to Judge ...

Friday, Feb 12, 2016. When you think about justice, about evil, about things where you are hurt and where someone has done bad things to you, you might feel the wish to that the other person is judged and punished. That is a very natural wish. But yet, Jesus calls his people to not follow this line of thought and emotion, but to be led and influenced by something else.

Have Mercy …

Jesus tells us: be influenced by the mercy of God. You are given the mercy of God, when you believe in him, when you trust him. And you are to be influenced and changed by this mercy. How can you judge others, where you just were given forgiveness and mercy for your own life? How can you claim to be close to God, but not see and learn from his mercy?

The bible teaches both the judgement of God and his full and complete mercy. They come together in Christ Jesus, in the cross of Calvary. He is punished, God's judgement is fully carried out. And he is risen - with God's justice and mercy coming together. The key wonder and realization of God's mercy is that all this applies to each and everyone through faith in Christ Jesus.

Christians cannot live without mercy! We would no longer be Christians, if we would not have mercy. We cannot judge others - if we do, we loose God's mercy and grace! So as Christians we need to remind ourselves, that we cannot be drawn into a mode where we judge and punish. Within a Christian community we are called to be very careful, and elements of judgement are part of church leadership - that is a story for another session.

How to make it happen? …

How do we make this mercy happen? How do you get it into your days, your mornings, your job, your family, your neighborship, your everything? How do you make it happen? Mercy is not an abstract or purely mental exercise, it is real life, real feelings, real actions, real words! But how do you get there? It cannot be reached by following rules …

We are invited to live with God. We are promised the Holy Spirit. It is God in our life, God in us, in our mind and our feelings. I cannot imagine that you start to live real mercy and truth and love and peace without being filled with the Holy Spirit. But with God in your life, things change. He is there, he is a real power. God's power is first a power of his spirit, of your heart being changed. This is far more important than any physical or medical wonders, which also might appear now and then. But changing a human heart and filling it with forgiveness, mercy and truth is the greatest wonder which can ever happen!

You can make it happen by starting to trust God. Read his word, and live with him. Pray! Share what you feel and think with God in father, son and holy spirit. And ask him for help, for guidance, for wisdom, for support and blessing for all levels of your life. God is real - we are invited to live with him today. (RWEP) ... more texts