GRACIOUS MERCY
Dictionary.com defines mercy as “compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender or another person in one’s power.”
It calls to mind an incident that took place in the early days of the presidency of Calvin Coolidge. He awoke one morning in a hotel room to find a burglar going through his pockets. Coolidge spoke up, asking the burglar not to take his watch chain because it contained an engraved charm he wanted to keep. He then engaged the thief in quiet conversation and discovered he was a college student who had no money to pay his hotel bill or buy a ticket back to campus. Coolidge counted $32 out of the wallet he had persuaded the dazed young man to give back. He declared it to be a loan, and advised the young man to leave the way he came to avoid his Secret Service agents. That’s gracious mercy; and yes, the loan was paid back!
It has well been said that “grace is getting more than you deserve, and mercy is getting less than you deserve.” At one point or another during our lives, all of us shall need both; so let’s be generous in gifting them to others.
Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!
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