James 3:17 in part.
As I drove away, I quickly forgot all about what had happened, and when I arrived home, I switched gears and got busy preparing for the Bible Study in the book of James I would teach a few days later; which study was all about wisdom. James tells us that there are two kinds of wisdom and the underlying question we are left to answer is what kind of wisdom will we live by—the world’s wisdom, or God’s wisdom? It’s one or the other, and James is very specific, listing the characteristics of each. As I looked at each one, the one that stood out above all the others was mercy. As James puts it, if we want to live by God's wisdom, we must "...be full of mercy."
As this truth swam around in my mind for a couple of days, my thoughts returned to that afternoon when my friend told me she had gift cards ready to hand to people who are hungry. Just then, a thought occurred to me. What if we did the same thing for times when someone has offended us and needs a little mercy--when that one needs a pardon? For times such as this, we could have a supply of invisible gift cards, calling them “Certificates of Pardon,” and when we're offended, we could hand one to the person who caused the offense. You see, that’s what mercy is; it’s overlooking an offense by pardoning the one who has offended us.
I can only imagine what it feels like to be truly hungry, but I well know what it feels like to be in need of mercy, to need a pardon for an offense I have caused. When that happens, there's no better feeling than to be handed an invisible "Certificate of Pardon."
Let's be well-prepared to help those who need a pardon!
Blessings,
Judy Grubaugh