Being mercy givers

Luk 6:36 "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Luk 6:37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.
Luk 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."

..................

This morning, in part of my reading, I came to Luke 6. I love this passage because it's an invitation to imitate God, and it's extended by Jesus himself. I have not been very good at mercy and kindness. I had to learn a lot. My best teacher has been my wife. Most of what I have learned about mercy I learned from Joye. She is one of the most merciful and kind people you will ever meet. She oozes mercy. I'm sure it's one of her gifts.

..................

The passage in Luke is an invitation to give to others what God has given you, and what you want in your own life. Do you want friends? Be a friend. Do you want mercy? Be merciful. Do you want kindness? Be kind. And then in verse 38 Jesus says, "give, and it will come back to you in wave after wave of those giving to you." (my paraphrase)

.................

The reason this passage caused me to write today is something that happened on our trip home this weekend. On our way home, just south of Little Rock, we stopped at a truck stop for a break (it was raining very hard as we drove home), and there in the store was a woman and her 3 year old child soaking wet. They were waiting....for someone, something. My wife, Joye, said something to her on the way into the store, but as I rejoined her to leave she was engaging the woman in a discussion- "Are you ok? Do you need something? Can we help?" And before I know it this woman and her 3 year old and a man who showed up from nowhere are in the back of our van as we continue our journey home. We found out that the man was her husband who had been at the side of the store having a smoke, but his sudden entrance into our van was a little unnerving to say the least. I could tell Joye was thinking, "what have I done?" They told us that their car had broken down, and they just needed a ride 10 miles down the road in our direction. Being mercy givers isn't always easy, fun or safe, but it's always the right response. We talked with them, Joye gave the little girl some cookies, and off we go. The journey took us finally to a dirt road off the freeway and to their broken car. We dropped them off, and then continued our drive home. Not a big deal, no wonderful miracles to tell, no big drama to unfold, we didn't even share the gospel with them....just a little mercy given.

...............

What will God do with that? I have no idea. Our task is to give to others what God has given us. It's up to God to take those acts of mercy and show others his mercy and grace as well. I've learned a lot about mercy and kindness from my wife. I think I would have turned out to be a grumpy, cruel old man if it weren't for her and God's work in my life. It's always an amazing thing to live with a mercy giver, it softens you...makes you more compassionate. It makes you into a mercy giver as well. What will happen? We may never know, but be a mercy giver anyway.