mercy

mer·cy (mûrs) NOUN: pl. mer·cies

1. Compassionate treatment, especially of those under one's power; clemency.
2. A disposition to be kind and forgiving: a heart full of mercy.
3. Something for which to be thankful; a blessing: It was a mercy that no one was hurt.
4. Alleviation of distress; relief: Taking in the refugees was an act of mercy.

i am a fan of mercy. once i was talking to a friend and she was telling me about someone and all their 'isms" and then she said something that i have never forgot. she said, "you know, she just needs mercy." i think about that often.

i think about that in the tiger wood's drama that has unfolded the past few weeks.

i think about it just in my day to day.

i think about mercy a lot. what would this world be like if every once in a while what we were expecting didn't come to fruition? the punishment that fit the crime became mercy.

when you think about jesus on the cross. when you think about all the torment that he was put through, he was dying. he was tortured. he was nailed to the cross, yet he was perfect. perfection was nailed to the cross. yet, the man who was beside him, a criminal; someone who deserved to be there. someone who knew when he made the bad decisions, crucified is likely what would happen. but when he made those decisions, he had no way of knowing that jesus is who he would end up dying beside.

and when he simply asked to be forgiven, jesus forgave. without hesitation, without thought. he showed mercy. undeserved favor.

i want to be more like this. when someone in my life wrongs me, i hope i show them mercy. even when i don't want to, i hope i show them undeserved favor. because i need mercy shown to me on a regular basis.

mercy. it's a little word. but can change a life.