Today I'm reflecting on the extreme grace and wisdom of God. He knows when to come to us with humor, when to be what I would term harsh, when to be gentle and gracious. He knows each situation is different and each individual unique and He speaks to each one individually as they can receive. That's why I think the Lord knew what he was doing when He started speaking a phrase to me in December whenever someone did something rude, inconsiderate, or offensive, "Oh my gosh, it's almost like they're human!" or "Oh my gosh, they aren't perfect!" The humor in it disarmed me every time and I had to chuckle. It is as if in my mind I expect that no one else has a bad day and is just short on patience, or that we all have it all together, or even that other people should be perfect. Lord knows I'm not. I suppose that's why He started saying that to me.
It's about how I look at people, not instantly equating what they are doing with who they are or making assumptions about their motives because of their actions. It's about even when it's clear as day that the action was hurtful, making the conscious choice to admit that I don't know what led them to that action but I will release them from it; whether it was made from a place of hurt, frustration, exhaustion or malicious intent is not mine to decide any more nor should that weigh into my decision to forgive.
Prior to about a year or two ago I thought that I was a very non-judgmental person. And in some ways I am. I've heard people share some messy or dark things without batting an eye because the Lord has shown me that thing isn't who they are, even if that's where they are. But still, I have notions in my mind about how things should be. Some of those notions are even grounded in the realities of what is right and what is wrong. But there is a place in me that is coming to understand the phrase: "First remove the log from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." It doesn't negate that there's a speck. It doesn't negate that when someone cuts me off in traffic in a way that jeopardizes both of our safety, it is wrong. It simply means that instead of slamming on my horn and shouting "IDIOT!" in my head, I can give grace (and maybe a little love tap on my horn...okay, so I haven't mastered this one yet).
The crazy part of it all is that during the period of time that I've heard that phrase, "It's almost like they're human", deep places of bitterness that I've been working to dislodge have begun to shake. Mercy truly does triumph over judgement. One of the other highlights to me was the other night, when I messed up (as I so often do), when the guilt of my failure was beginning to well up (as it often does), I heard that same hyperbole deep in my spirit: "Oh my gosh, it's almost like you're human!" The tables had turned. And as I had begun to show mercy to those who had/were wronging me, the Lord also invited me to show mercy to myself.
I wish I could say that I'm all the way "there" with this mercy thing but I'm not. The beauty of it is that I don't have to be. God never asked us to have it altogether. In fact, the gospel is the story of how when we were at our darkest, our lowest, God loved us and paid the price for us anyway. So I'm feeling pretty I'm excited for this next season. I'm excited because I know that I don't have it all together. I know that I'm more than a mere mortal through Christ (it's in the Word). But I also know that God is still working in me to will and to work for His good pleasure. And so I'm rejoicing in my weaknesses, because I know that through them God can make His power known (also in the Word). Because y'all that know me know that I'm a mess without Him! Thanks for being on this journey with me, until next time.
Peace!
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