Listen

This saying is reliable and deserves full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I’m the biggest sinner of all. But this is why I was shown mercy, so that Christ Jesus could show his endless patience to me first of all. So I’m an example for those who are going to believe in him for eternal life.

1 Timothy 1:15-16

Think

Forgiveness is a gracious gift from God. Jesus showed forgiveness and love throughout his entire ministry on earth – eating with sinners, sharing stories with outcasts, healing the sick, prioritizing those on the margins. Mercy was a part of Jesus’s daily actions. And it can be a part of ours too.

However, as the writer of 1 Timothy shares in this passage, even though we can be examples who show mercy, that doesn’t mean we are perfect. We mess up, we fall short, but God’s grace is big enough to show us mercy too. In doing so, we are able to follow Jesus’s example and way of life that embodies compassion, mercy, and forgiveness in every little step we take.

Anna Beth Cross

Pray

Loving God, help me to receive your mercy in my own life so I may share it with others.

Amen.

Go

Go with love, showing compassion, offering forgiveness, seeking out kindness, sharing joy, and celebrating mercy. Amen.